NOTEBOOK: Stars Can’t Come Through in Clutch

PRINCETON, N.J.—The Harvard men’s basketball team has proven its ability to win when co-captain Jeremy Lin isn’t on his game. But when its second option is also struggling, the Crimson’s chances for victory drop dramatically, especially on the road.

Such was the case Saturday night at Princeton’s Jadwin Gymnasium, where the top two stars for both teams had off nights.

In the final conference game of his career, Lin was held to eight points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field. Though he did go 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, the vaunted guard’s only made basket from the floor was a three-pointer late in the first half.

With his mid-range game not working, the senior did not convert any of the seven two-point shots he put up.

Lin’s biggest miss of the game came with 16 seconds left, when his potential game-winning layup bounced off the iron on Harvard’s penultimate offensive possession.

And for the second straight night, freshman Kyle Casey struggled mightily. After only committing one personal foul in the first half, he picked up four in the final frame, fouling out with 3:37 left to play.

Casey scored just five points on 2-of-6 shooting—including two missed three-pointers—to go along with a team-high four turnovers.

Whether it was making passes or receiving them, the rookie simply never looked comfortable and had his hands full on the defensive end guarding Princeton’s versatile front-court.

“If your top scorers aren’t having good offensive games, there’s no question that affects how we play and the rhythm of the game offensively,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “Nonetheless we still have to find ways [to win].”

The Tigers experienced similar problems with their standouts.

Sophomore Doug Davis, Princeton’s leading scorer, encountered shooting problems all game, missing all but two of the 11 shots he attempted from the field in 35 minutes of action. From teardrops to triples, the speedster couldn’t get much to fall.

Forward Dan Mavraides—just behind Davis in scoring average—received two quick fouls in the first half and was never a real factor, adding only five points and a rebound. The junior had shredded Harvard for a team-high 14 points back in early February at Lavietes Pavilion.

LIVING THE DREAM

Luckily for the Tigers, a reserve stepped up in a big way.

Junior Kareem Maddox came off the bench to collect a career-high 18 points, going 10-for-11 from the charity stripe. An extremely athletic 6’8” forward, Maddox made a big impact on both ends of the floor with his strength and quickness, which allowed him to post up or drive the baseline on a consistent basis.

The Crimson attempted to slow the big man with a variety of defenders—including Casey, sophomore Keith Wright, and Lin—but had little success. Three of Casey’s fouls came when guarding Maddox, and Wright experienced difficulties keeping up with the junior as well. When faced with Harvard’s wings, Maddox used his body to either convert inside or get to the free throw line.

“The kid Maddox is such a tough player, a tough guard,” Amaker said. “If you got a big guy on him, he’s really good with the ball, and if you try to go a little smaller to stay in front of him, he goes into the post.”

The impressive performance came as no surprise, considering that Maddox tore apart the Crimson to the tune of 14 points in the teams’ previous matchup last month.

Maddox received no breathers on the defensive end, as he was assigned the duty of guarding Lin. With the help of Princeton’s team defense, Maddox was able to hassle the headliner and keep him off-balance.

“His length is something we don’t have at any other spot,” Tigers coach Sidney Johnson said. “Kareem is long and able to disturb people.”

—Staff writer Dennis J. Zheng can be reached at dzheng12@college.harvard.edu.