Men's Basketball Notches 250th Win at Lavietes Pavilion

After spending the last month on the road, the Harvard men’s basketball team finally made its return to Lavietes Pavilion on Saturday in historic fashion.

Led by an offensive outburst from sophomore point guard Siyani Chambers, the Crimson (10-1) notched the 250th win in team history at Lavietes, defeating Vermont (4-8), 74-68.

Chambers’ 27 points marked a career high for the sophomore guard. However, more impressive than Chamber’s point total was his efficiency from the floor. The underclassman shot nine-for-10 from the field and a perfect six-for-six from beyond the arc.

“Siyani was tremendous for us,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “He was a surgeon today. He was precise, and he quarterbacked our team…I was so pleased with how he played and how he propelled us to victory.”

After leading for the majority of the contest, the Crimson surrendered a 15-4 run to the Catamounts with 11:05 to go in the game, allowing the visitors to go up 48-45. However, Harvard quickly responded.

Following a bucket from junior forward Jonah Travis that cut the lead to one, Chambers began to take control of the game. After grabbing a rebound on the defensive end, co-captain Laurent Rivard found Chambers in the corner, who drained a three, putting the Crimson back on top, 50-48.

Two minutes later, Chambers had the ball in his hands again.  Dribbling at the top of the key, the point guard gained separation with a crossover and a step-back move, before draining another three that brought the lead back up to double digits, effectively sealing the victory.

“When [Siyani] gets in his moods, you always here him talking, [and] you always hear him vocal,” senior forward Kyle Casey said. “When he’s ready to attack and he decides to take over for a few possessions or a half or anything like he did tonight, it’s special to watch.”

Prior to surrendering the run that put Harvard up for good, the Catamounts had been playing up to expectations as the preseason favorite in the America East Conference. After the team struggled in the early going, senior guard Sandro Carissimo sparked a Vermont resurgence. Over the course of the Catamounts’ 15-4 run early in the second half, the Vermont co-captain added eight of his game-high 30 points.

Carissimo’s scoring output did not come as a surprise to Amaker. In last year’s contest between the two teams, the guard led all scoring with 25 points, carrying the Catamounts to an 85-78 victory.

“We weren’t able to guard [Carissimo] for whatever reason,” Amaker said. “That kid’s a very good player…He’s like Siyani—a crafty, savvy player.”

Junior forward Wesley Saunders had the difficult task of guarding Carissimo, but foul trouble kept him off the floor for much of the game. Consequently, Harvard’s leading scorer this season only had six points on the game, four of which came at the free throw line.

The game had the makings of a blowout in the early going. The Crimson opened the contest by converting eight of its first 11 shots, while the Catamounts missed each of their first seven attempts.

With 14:27 remaining in the first half, all five Harvard starters had already put themselves on the score sheet. However, it quickly became clear that Chambers was in command for the Crimson. The point guard hit all four of his three-point attempts in the half, leading all scorers at the break with 12.

After the Crimson took a 15-point lead with 10:38 to play in the half, the Catamounts quickly began to find their rhythm. Shooting 53 percent from the field for the rest of the half, Vermont stormed back with a run of its own, cutting the deficit to 36-31 at halftime.

In addition to the sharp shooting from Carissimo, the Catamounts’ run revolved around their work on the glass. Vermont outrebounded the Crimson 14-6 on the offensive end, allowing the team to generate 20 second-chance points.

“[I was] disappointed in our ability to keep them off the offensive glass,” Amaker said. “Fourteen offensive rebounds for that team is way too many for us to give up.”

Nonetheless, production from the Harvard bench ultimately proved to be the difference in the game, as the Crimson's bench outscored the Catamounts’ second unit 18-4. The sophomore pair of Evan Cummings and Agunwa Okolie combined for 11 points, six rebounds, and three blocks.

Additionally, in just 12 minutes of play, Travis notched seven points and four rebounds.

“Like Coach [Amaker] always says, Jonah is a junkyard dog,” Chambers said. “He came in and gave us a shot on the arm. He was all over the glass, all over the backboard, making those scrappy plays that the team needed in order to win.”