Crimson Picks Up Road Victory

The Harvard men’s basketball team took another step in exorcising its road demons from a year ago as it held on to win 67-64 at Colgate on Saturday.

Leading the Crimson (4-2) once again was junior guard Jeremy Lin, who filled up the box score to the tune of 26 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals as his team won its second road game of the season after they won zero roadies last year. It was the fourth straight game he led the team in scoring. Freshman guard Max Kenyi added 12 points off the bench, including the biggest basket of the game against the Raiders (2-5).

His team clinging to a one-point lead at 62-61 and less than 90 seconds to go, Kenyi, coming off a zero-point performance in a loss Wednesday against Boston University, got the ball from senior guard Drew Housman and popped an open three to put his team up four with 1:18 left to play.

“Max has a lot of confidence, [and] we have a lot of confidence in him,” captain and guard Andrew Pusar said. “He hit that big three in the corner late, and it boosted our confidence. We have a lot of trust in him.”

Colgate came back with a three-point play by senior guard Willie Morse to cut the lead to one. Housman missed a lay-up on the next possession, but freshman forward Keith Wright got the rebound and eventually got the ball to Housman, who was fouled with 18 seconds left. The senior nailed both shots, and the Raiders missed a three-point attempt in the final seconds to come up three points short—with Kenyi’s shot the difference.

“It’s a fun situation to be in, in a college game, to hit that shot,” Housman said. “He’s a confident player, [so] it’s not surprising for him to do big things in big situations.”

Housman made his second straight start for Harvard and was joined in the lineup for the first time by classmate Pusar. Kenyi had started the first five games of the season, but came off the bench Saturday and added a solid spark in a closely-fought contest.

The visitors grabbed the lead early on, keyed by a three-pointer by Lin, who followed that up with a dunk. The reigning Ivy League Player of the Week strongly stated his case for repeat honors, as he played nearly the entire game, logging 38 minutes, and was remarkably efficient, shooting 9-of-12 from the floor.

“Jeremy is playing amazing,” Pusar said. “What’s even funnier, he’s carrying such an enormous load, but he does this every day in practice too. He proves day in, day out he’s a well rounded player, and at the same time, he carries the offensive load.”

Lin’s burst began a strong stretch for his team as it pushed the margin as high as 11 with 13:26 to play in the first half before settling for a five-point lead at halftime. After the break, the Crimson started well again, pushing the difference to nine at 42-33 with 15:11 left in the game. The Raiders were not done yet, however, and they went on an 11-2 run to tie the game up at 44-44 with 12:46 left.

The teams then traded baskets, with the last tie coming at 48-48 with 10:58 to play. Freshman guard Oliver McNally then hit a jumper as Harvard took a lead it would not relinquish. Colgate stayed right behind, and the lead never ballooned to more than five points, setting the stage for Kenyi’s big shot and the team’s second road win over the past two seasons.

“I think it does a lot for our confidence,” Housman said. “We were so abysmal last year. Even though Colgate is not a great team, going to someone’s house and taking them down, it really is going to help.”

—Staff writer Walter E. Howell can be reached at wehowell@fas.harvard.edu. —Staff writer Ted Kirby can be reached at tjkirby@fas.harvard.edu.