NOTEBOOK: Defense, Dunks Spark Men's Basketball

Cradling the ball in his right hand in the early second half of his team’s contest against Harvard Wednesday night, all Bryant forward Alex Francis could see was open court in front of him.

The sinewy six-foot-five forward had missed only one shot all night, tormenting Harvard senior Kyle Casey to the tune of 12 first half points.

Seeing Casey in his peripheral vision, Francis took one dribble and launched himself at the hoop, cocking his arm back for a rim-rattling dunk.

Casey didn’t see it happening that way.

Flying in from the weak side, the Medway, Mass., native met Francis at the rim and swatted away the dunk attempt. As the two tumbled to the ground, co-captain Laurent Rivard picked up the ball and flung it up the court to junior Wesley Saunders. Spinning off a defender, Saunders laid the ball up and in as the referees’ whistle blew.

The scene was emblematic of a night where the Crimson (4-0) repeatedly took Bryant’s (2-2) best shot and returned it with force, putting on a clinic in how to finish near the rim en route to an 86-68 victory.

“This was a big game for us,” Saunders said. “We kind of wanted to go start off our road trip on a good note so we were trying to use the game to prepare us for what we would face in Colorado and Alaska.”

Harvard had only three treys on the night on 10 attempts but finished with 50 points in the paint—most from classmates Saunders and Steve Moundou-Missi. The two finished with a combined 48 points, 13 rebounds, six blocks, and four steals, including 14 of the 16 points in a critical three-minute second-half stretch that turned an eight-point Crimson lead into a 22-point advantage.

HIGH POST, LOW POST

Moundou-Missi finished with a career high in scoring the tough way. The Cameroonian forward scored 18 of his 23 points in the lane and fought for four offensive rebounds. The junior said that playing alongside Casey, who assisted on consecutive Moundou-Missi baskets in a 40-second first-half span, allowed him the ability to play off the ball.

“When I get into the lane [Kyle] finds me,” Moundou-Missi said. “He is a really good passer with a good feel for the game.”

Casey operated out of the high post all night as Moundou-Missi set up in the interior against Francis and Bryant forward Claybrin McMath. Casey found the junior time and time again with the entry pass, as all three of Casey’s assists on the night were to Moundou-Missi.

“Kyle is a great passer,” Saunders said. “I don’t think he gets enough credit for that but he is one of our best passers and it is great to have a big man that can do that to make plays.”

On the defensive end, the two combined for six blocks and two steals, hounding Francis into seven turnovers. Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said that the communication between the two big men was key to limiting Francis and Bryant guard Dyami Starks—who entered the game leading the NCAA with 33.3 points a game—to 28 points on 10 for 21 shooting.

“Our defense is predicated on a couple of things—our pressure on the ball up front and the communication of our bigs behind,” Amaker said. “I think Kyle and Steve are probably our two best at that. I’m very pleased how these two guys have been able to mesh together this early.”

FORCE OF ASSIGNMENT

On the perimeter, Saunders drew the opposing team’s highest scorer for the second straight contest. After holding Howard’s James Daniel—who entered the game averaging more than 23 points a game—to 4-of-14 shooting, Saunders once again used his length to force Starks into three turnovers and one of five shooting from behind the arc.

“[I try to] be there at all times and just be ready to deny him the catch,” Saunders said.

Amaker said that Saunders did a good job of balancing offense with defense. In addition to holding the nation’s leading scorer down, Saunders led all scorers with 25 points on just nine shots from the floor in 37 minutes.

“Wesley is our most talented player,” Amaker said. “For him to score what he scored in addition to guarding the kid Starks I thought was an outstanding effort on his part.… I thought we had a great team effort, but I thought Wesley was outstanding.”

—Staff writer David Freed can be reached at david.freed@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twiter @CrimsonDPFreed.