NOTEBOOK: Fiery Speech Sparks Second-Half Rally

NEW HAVEN, Conn.—Harvard’s season was hanging in the balance. Yale forward Jordan Gibson’s layup at the end of the first half made the score 34-25 in the Bulldogs favor. The Crimson labored for much of the opening period, scoring just five points over the final 10 minutes of the frame.

“I can’t repeat it,” joked Harvard coach Tommy Amaker of his halftime speech. “I wasn’t pleased with the latter part of the first half and how we played.”

Whatever Amaker told his players apparently made an impression as the Crimson opened the second half on fire.

The run began with a drive and finish by freshman forward Kyle Casey. His classmate in the backcourt, Brandyn Curry followed with a layup and then a deep three-pointer.

Next, co-captain Jeremy Lin scored six straight points. His first bucket came when Casey found him on a backdoor cut, and he finished with a reverse layup. Minutes later, Lin buried shots on consecutive possessions. The senior standout grabbed a defensive rebound and took it coast-to-coast for an uncontested lay-in, before driving into the middle of the lane for a floater.

A lefty hook from co-captain Doug Miller and a three from the left corner by freshman forward Christian Webster capped the 18-4 run and turned a nine point deficit into a five point lead.

“I thought our kids responded very well,” Amaker said. “I was very pleased to see how we came out in the second half and inched our way back in it and made it a game. It was an incredible basketball game from that point forward.”

SPICY CURRY

After Lin fouled out with 1:15 remaining in regulation, Harvard needed someone to step up and run the offense.

Curry proved he was up to the task. The freshman’s ability to create looks for his teammates and score himself was instrumental to the Crimson’s win.

“Bradyn in particular was outstanding with his play, with handling the ball and scoring,” Amaker said. “We needed all of that.”

At the start of overtime, Curry drew a foul on a drive and knocked down both free throws to give Harvard an early lead. The next time down the court Casey and Webster missed in the paint, but Curry raced to the weak side where he grabbed the offensive rebound and converted the put back.

“I just felt that I had to be aggressive—a little bit more aggressive—and just make plays for my teammates, and get us the win,” Curry said.

Under the freshman’s direction, the Harvard offense did not skip a beat. It was able to build a four-point lead and induce the Bulldogs to foul for the final minute of the game.

“As a matter of fact, I think their offense is better without [Lin] sometimes,” Yale coach James Jones said. “I wasn’t surprised one bit that they were able to make shots.”

Curry’s success was not limited to the final minutes. He scored a total of 15 points and was perfect from the field, including 2-of-2 from three and 3-for-3 from the foul line.

His biggest hoop of the night might have come with four minutes left in regulation. Trailing by three, Curry had the ball at the top of the key. The rookie started right, switched directions by dribbling behind his back, and drove all the way to the hoop. Curry banked home a layup as Bulldog forward Greg Mangano fouled him, and the guard hit the ensuing free throw to tie the game.

“Bradyn was tremendous throughout the evening,” Amaker said. “He’s playing with a great deal of swagger and confidence.”

COMING UP BIG

The big concern going into the game for the Crimson was the matchup in the frontcourt. With three of its top five forwards out of the game, Harvard was very thin on the frontline and needed good minutes from Casey and Miller.

Both players delivered.

Casey started the game by hitting three straight three pointers in the first eight minutes. The freshman saw 41 minutes of action and finished as the Crimson’s leading scorer with 20 points and its leading rebounder with seven boards.

Miller logged 34 minutes and tallied six points and three blocks, but his biggest contributions were buried beneath the stats. The co-captain grabbed three offensive rebounds, and each time he found an open teammate on the perimeter that knocked down a three.

“These kids are exhausted from the [number of] minutes they’re playing,” said Amaker of his big men. “Certainly we needed them out there.”

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