Men's Basketball Routs MIT

For almost eight minutes of the Harvard men’s basketball team’s first half, it seemed as if only one side of the scoreboard was working.

With 9:40 left in the period, Crimson sophomore forward Evan Cummins dished the ball to classmate Siyani Chambers at the top of the key. Chambers dribbled left off of a Cummins screen, and tossed the ball across the paint to a streaking Kyle Casey. The senior caught and dunked the ball in one motion, instigating a 20-0 Crimson run, and burying MIT along the way.

From that point on, it was all Harvard. A nine point lead stretched to 20 and, with 4:23 left in the second half, a Cummins lay-up extended the Harvard advantage to 44.

The end result was a 79-37 victory for the home team on Tuesday night at Lavietes Pavilion, the largest margin of victory for the Crimson since head coach Tommy Amaker took the helm in 2007.

Everyone who suited up for the Crimson saw time on the hard wood, with all but two players—juniors Charlie Anastasi and Alex Nesbitt—attempting at least two field goals. Classmate Wesley Saunders and freshman Zena Edosomwan led the way for the Crimson, tallying 14 and 13 points, respectively.

It was Edosomwan whose reverse lay-up with 12:31 remaining in the contest first pushed the game’s margin to 40. Typical to a night that saw the Engineers shoot 27.9 percent from the field, the play began with a defensive rebound.

Junior forward Jonah Travis fronted his man, Matt Redfield, leading the Engineer to force a shot deep in the paint. The shot went wide and Travis grabbed the rebound and passed the ball ahead to Nesbitt, who found Edosomwan posting up on the low block. The freshman caught the ball, turned, dribbled once, and laid the ball up from the other side of the basket, giving his team the 57-17 advantage.

From that point on, MIT never came within 36 points.

The first half saw four dunks and an additional lay-up ally-oop, with the most emphatic of them initiating the near-eight minutes that saw only the Harvard side of the scoreboard light up.

Two possessions after Casey’s alley-oop, Harvard ran down the clock, completing five passes before Cummins shoveled the ball to Chambers, who knocked down a jumper from the left elbow.

The basket gave the Crimson its first double-digit lead of the game and, and in nine out of 10 of the next possessions, Harvard managed to put the ball in the hoop, extending its advantage to 27 in that span of time.

Despite the offensive proficiency, Amaker attributed his squad’s success to its aggression on the other end of the floor.

“I thought our defense was outstanding in the first half,” Amaker said. “[We played] our D without fouling, [which]…allowed us to get loose balls and rebounds. [We then could use] our speed and athleticism and quickness to get up the floor. I thought we did a pretty decent job.”

It would take MIT until the 1:52 mark to put another notch on the scoreboard, turning the ball over nine times in the process. For the game, the Engineers totaled 29 turnovers, more than quadrupling the number of Harvard miscues.

“Coach was harping on us about playing our game and playing the way Harvard basketball plays,” Casey said. “I thought we clamped up defensively, got some stops, stretched the lead, and made the right plays at the right times. [I think we] came in ready to play and…just took care of business.”

The second half saw more of the same.

Edosomwan’s reverse lay-up was followed by yet another Travis defensive stop. Travis stripped the ball from Redfield, and, in a play strikingly similar to the one that immediately preceded it, shot an outlet pass to Nesbitt. Seconds later, Nesbitt found Travis streaking ahead, who slammed the ball home to make it 59-17.

“[Our bench] guys are great,” Saunders said. “They were ready to go out there and it showed… They came off the bench with a lot of energy, were excited, and did some great things for our team…It was a great way to start off the season.”

As 13 players took the floor for the home team, it is fitting that only bench players scored for Harvard in the last 15:10 of the game. Freshman Matt Fraschilla, in his first collegiate appearance, knocked down back-to-back treys while veteran Dee Giger added six points.

Tuesday’s contest marked the first time Casey played in Lavietes since returning to the squad this fall. Co-captain Brandyn Curry did not suit up for the game.

“It was good to be back,” Casey said. “I thought we took care of business well…. Coming back here, playing in Lavietes, in front of the home crowd…there’s a sense of pride. It was a great feeling to finally get back out here, play a game, win a game, and keep the season going.”

—Staff writer Juliet Spies-Gans can be reached at jspiesgans@college.harvard.edu.