NOTEBOOK: Men's Basketball's Offense Struggles in Victory

The Harvard men’s basketball team handily defeated Cornell, 71-60, at Lavietes Pavilion on Friday night. But that isn’t to say the squad played a perfect game, or anywhere near one, as the Crimson struggled to consistently score against the Big Red.

To many, Harvard’s offensive struggles will be hidden by the 71 points it scored, its highest total of 2012. But 29 of those points came off of 34 free throw attempts in a tightly-called ballgame. Had the Crimson not shot the lights out from the line, the result would have been much closer.

On offense, Harvard had its worst shooting performance of the young Ivy League season, going 18 of 44 from the field and six for 20 from behind the arc. The worst dry spell of the night came during the final five minutes of the first half and the first five of the second period.

During that ten minute span, the Crimson went two for nine from the field and committed six turnovers. On the night, the team had more turnovers, 16, than assists, 12.

“We turned the ball over too much,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “We didn’t have the attention to detail needed, and I was very disappointed with that. I wish we could play more consistently throughout the game.”

Coming into Friday’s contest, Harvard was expected to dominate down low against Cornell’s frontcourt. And while junior Kyle Casey did rack up 13 points in 16 minutes, both he and co-captain Keith Wright were hamstrung by fouls and turnovers.

The nine-point outing by Wright, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, represented another below-average performance from the senior in conference play.

After scoring double-digits in 12 of his first 18 matchups this year, Wright was held to single digits for his fourth straight game.

With its bigs saddled with foul trouble, the Crimson needed its shooters to step up.

Sophomore Laurent Rivard did just that. Rivard went five of nine from the field and three of seven from deep, tallying a team-high 16 points. The marksman also stole the ball thrice, twice turning the extra possession into a fast break layup by himself.

Meanwhile, freshman Corbin Miller, who entered Friday’s contest shooting a blistering 60.7 percent from beyond the arc, hit a cold streak Friday night. The rookie got a career-high 21 minutes but made poor use of them, going zero for seven, all from deep, on the night. Miller’s only two points came late in the game from the charity stripe.

FRESH FOUR

While much of the rookie class skipped the game to prep for Freshman Formal, four freshmen ballplayers showed their moves on the court. Miller, Wes Saunders, Steve Moundou-Missi, and Jonah Travis combined to play 69 minutes—more playing time than they had received in any of the previous four Ivy matchups—though many of those minutes came after the starters had established comfortable, double-digit leads and while Casey and Wright battled foul trouble. In different ways, each rookie took advantage of the time to prove why they deserve to be stalwarts on the squad.

Saunders’ potential contributions to the team were encapsulated by the final play of the first half. With seconds left, the rookie converted an athletic layup attempt to regain the momentum for the Crimson heading into halftime. Saunders is one of few Harvard players who can create off of the dribble and provide an offensive spark.

Moundou-Missi proved once again why he is a quintessential Amaker player. While he took only two shots Friday, Moundou-Missi was consistently in the right spot on defense, garnering a steal and a block in the process. He also played strong on offense, earning seven trips to the free throw line where he converted all his attempts.

Travis played a similar game, not registering a single shot from the field. Still, he provided solid minutes when the starting big men needed a rest.

HISTORY LESSON

With Friday’s win, Harvard moved to 5-0, its strongest start to conference play in thirty years. That 1980-1981 squad won its first five Ivy contest before faltering, losing five of its last nine conference matches.

Friday’s win also pushed the Crimson to 19-2, an opening mark that hasn’t been seen since the Truman administration. The 1945-46 iteration notched its 19th win against Chelsea Naval Hospital. That team was the last to make the NCAA tournament, where it lost to NYU and Ohio State in the then-not-as-big dance.

—Staff writer Jacob D. H. Feldman can be reached at jacobfeldman@college.harvard.edu.