Harvard Hoops Steamroll Rice

Harvard showcased flair and fundamentals last night when Rice (4-3) came to Lavietes Pavilion. The Crimson (6-1) built up a 14-point lead in the first half and cruised to an 85-64 win in a game abounding with highlights.

Perhaps the most sensational play came less than four minutes into the action with both teams struggling.

Together, the two squads had already combined for eight turnovers when sophomore guard Oliver McNally sent an alley-oop to freshman forward Kyle Casey.

The freshman skied and flushed, eliciting cheers from the crowd and igniting a Harvard offense that was hot for much of the night.

“The coaches want me to bring a lot of energy, so we ran our play and we executed pretty well,” Casey said. “It kind of sparked us and got us going.”

But with five minutes remaining in the first half, the Crimson was still unable to pull away and led only 25-19. A three-pointer from the right wing by freshman forward Christian Webster extended the lead to nine.

On the subsequent possession, co-captain Doug Miller kicked the ball from the post back out to Webster in the left corner where the freshman buried another three. Harvard’s lead never dipped beneath nine afterward.

The Crimson’s prolific offense was matched by its defense, which forced 12 turnovers in the first half en route to holding the Owls to just 26 points.

“[I was] very pleased with, I thought, a stellar defensive effort by our team,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “[I’ve] been very impressed with the way our kids have been able to bring great energy and effort to the defensive end.”

Leading 40-26 at the half, the Crimson wasted no time extending its lead in the second frame. The offense looked to sophomore forward Keith Wright to shoulder the scoring load, and the big man responded by scoring six straight points.

On the night, Wright led Harvard with a season-high 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

“They were throwing it into me so I had to finish,” Wright said. “That’s the main thing I’ve been working on all year.”

“[He was] efficient around the goal, making his layups and his post moves,” Amaker said. “When we can go inside and play inside-out, we like the way our offense flows.”

The offense was both solid, sporting a 60.8 field goal percentage on the night, and spectacular. Three minutes into second half, Webster got the ball as he cut into the lane and delivered a no-look pass to Miller, who finished the play with a dunk.

Midway through the frame, co-captain guard Jeremy Lin dribbled up court on a fast break, and took the ball directly at Rice forward Trey Stanton as if to dunk the ball.

Fouled at the height of his jump, Lin went sprawling but managed to bank his shot off the backboard and through the hoop as he collapsed on top of Stanton.

The play and the following free throw accounted for three of the senior’s 14 points on the game.

Minutes later, sophomore point guard Oliver McNally contributed his own circus play. Driving in the lane, McNally pulled up in front of Owls guard Emerson Herndon and launched a floater as he was clobbered to the floor. The basket fell and McNally converted the ensuing free throw.

“Our style of play is very important to us,” Amaker said regarding the Crimson’s highlights. “Not just the dunks, but the brand, the movement, the freedom, the structure...That’s hopefully something that can draw other people to want to watch our kids perform and compete.”

The 85-64 win, in which all of Harvard’s healthy players saw time on the court, brought the team to 6-1 on the season. The start is the Crimson’s best since 1984-85 when it began 8-0.

“It’s a nice thing for our kids to hang their hats on,” Amaker said. “They’ve earned it. We’ve played a tremendous schedule so far, and it only gets incredibly tougher from this point forward.”

—Staff writer Timothy J. Walsh can be reached at twalsh@fas.harvard.edu