NOTEBOOK: Defense Dominates Against MIT in Season Opener

After an offseason full of questions, the Harvard men’s basketball team (1-0) finally began to get some answers when it took down crosstown rival MIT in the season opener at Lavietes Pavilion, 59-39.

Senior Agunwa Okolie spoke afterwards of a sense of urgency for this team. In their last year, classmates Okolie, captain Evan Cummins, and forward Patrick Steeves want to make the most of the time they have left in a Crimson uniform. After the departure of their classmate Siyani Chambers, who withdrew for the 2015-2016 season after an offseason ACL injury, how the team would fare in their final year was very much up in the air.

MIT is far from the toughest test Harvard will face this season, but the game had value in providing game experience for a Crimson team with six rookies. Coach Tommy Amaker used a deep bench, with 13 players getting playing time in the game.

DOUBLING DOWN ON DEFENSE

Though the team may have been without its top three scorers from last season, Amaker’s trademark remains: strong defense. Even when the team struggled to get the ball in the hoop in the first half, shooting just over 30 percent from the floor, the Crimson held the Engineers to just 19 points in the first frame.

“Defense was the story for us,” Amaker said. “I thought it was a good team effort to hold this team to 39 points.”

Cummins played a major role in providing a spark for the defense, by being vocal on the floor and leading by example for his younger teammates. The captain had a career-high 10 rebounds on the night, nine of which came in the first half.

While Harvard struggled with help defense during its exhibition against McGill, it was a strength against MIT as the backcourt held its own and forced the Engineer guards to take shots under pressure as the shot clock wound down.

“We had a great help side. [MIT] did a great job of moving the ball and quickly changing sides, so for us it was just staying disciplined,” Okolie said. “Say if one man gets beat on the dribble, another guy will come and help.”

A NIGHT OF FIRSTS

From tip off, one could see that this is a new Harvard team. For the first time since 2008, coach Tommy Amaker had two freshmen in his starting lineup–guards Tommy McCarthy and Corey Johnson.

McCarthy has long been lauded as the likely replacement for Chambers. He not only played the role of floor general for the young Harvard team, but also led his squad with 12 points and three assists on the night.

“I think he’s learning,” Amaker said of McCarthy. “Certainly gaining some experience and confidence is critical and I think he was able to play in a way that was pretty solid.”

Johnson showed his strength from the perimeter, sinking three of five shots from behind the arc. Along with junior Corbin Miller, Johnson’s strength from deep helps the Crimson spread the offense and draw defenders away from the paint, leaving the big men open to score.

Though the young pair showed offensive spark, it was clear it was their first collegiate game. Both struggled to get things going in the first half, shooting a combined 3-for-12 through the first 20 minutes.

But in the second half with 16:37 to play, the duo jumpstarted the team’s 15-0 run that began with a Johnson three. McCarthy would then sink three free throws from the charity stripe and strip the Engineers on their next possession, extending the lead to 13 with an uncontested layup.

With the starting rotation giving the Crimson some wiggle room, Amaker gave fellow freshmen Weisner Perez and Balsa Dragovic a chance to log their first minutes of the season.

“They’ve been playing really well for us and are going to need to continue doing it for us,” Cummins said. “Everything is new for them, they are learning as they go.”

The rookies were not the only ones tallying their first minutes in a Harvard uniform. Steeves, who has been plagued by injuries during his Crimson career, tallied one point and one rebound in two minutes on the floor.

“I’m very happy for Patrick because he’s been banged up and injured,” Amaker said. “To come back and spend that kind of time, to get healthy with the kind of injuries he’s had. I was very happy for him, and our team was very happy for him, and that’s a really cool thing.”