Notebook: McCarthy Lifts Men's Basketball to Dramatic Win Over Cornell

­During the 2015-2016 season, the Harvard men’s basketball team has been plagued by games of runs, where the Crimson has been unable to put together a full 40 minutes.

It happened at Dartmouth, when the Big Green rode a 12-0 run to open the second half and come away with the double-digit victory. It happened at home against Cornell, where Harvard erased a 15-point deficit, only to give the lead right back and eventually fall by double-digits again. It happened at home against Columbia, when the Lions overcame a 16-point deficit to beat the Crimson on an Alex Rosenberg buzzer-beater.

But in Ithaca on Saturday night, Harvard finally found itself on the other end of an inconsistent game. After falling behind by 21 points with nine minutes remaining in the contest, the Crimson (11-15, 3-7 Ivy League) chipped away at the Big Red (9-15, 2-8) lead, and a baseline jumper by freshman guard Tommy McCarthy sealed the Harvard victory, 76-74.

MCCARTHY’S MOMENT

It was a battle of two freshman guards on Saturday night, with McCarthy facing off against Cornell phenom Matt Morgan, the Ivy League’s leading scorer.

While McCarthy and Morgan both led their teams in scoring, with 21 and 27, respectively, it was their play in the final seconds that will be remembered. After Harvard’s comeback, a dunk from junior Zena Edosomwan put the Crimson up three with 32 seconds to go. But Cornell wasn’t done fighting. Much like he had done all night, Morgan dribbled down the court and took control of the game on his own, launching an unassisted trey to tie the game at 74 with 24.5 seconds remaining.

On Harvard’s next possession, McCarthy received a pass from senior forward Agunwa Okolie just over half court. After dribbling down the clock to give Harvard a chance to take the final shot, McCarthy drove in traffic and hoisted a floater, putting the Crimson back up by two with 5.5 seconds to go. This time, Morgan could not respond, and Harvard walked away with its first Ivy road win of the year.

“I just tried to play with the flow of the game but I always like the ball in my hands at the end of the game,” McCarthy said. “It’s something I’ve always been good at in close games, end of the game, but I really love having the ball in my hands.”

But aside from making the game-winning shot, the rookie’s 21 points were a career high, and his play throughout the night demonstrated the improvements he has made over the course of the season. After averaging just 5.5 points a game through the month of January, McCarthy has improved to 10 per game in February. The Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., native is fourth in the Ivy League in assists and has been one of Harvard’s most consistent free throw shooters all year.

“I thought throughout the game he had a spirit and a vibe about him that was very positive,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “That kid Morgan, he’s an outstanding player, the shot he made to tie the game was just incredible, but Tommy’s performance, you know going against really good players, he steps his game up and really competed for us.”

DOMINATING THE GLASS

Throughout the season, Edosomwan has always told the press that it starts with rebounding. Even when he is struggling to find his shot, rebounds are a statistic based on effort. Harvard’s effort on the glass certainly showed on Saturday night, outrebounding the Big Red, 41-33.

More importantly, however, were the circumstances under which the rebounds came. The Crimson snagged 18 offensive rebounds compared to 10 for Cornell, including two consecutive grabs for Edosomwan which resulted in the dunk that put Harvard up three in the waning seconds.

“You know what, huge plays,” Amaker said of Edosomwan’s back-to-back offensive boards. “...[A]s fate would have it, his effort, his energy on the glass, resulted in the two points he got on the dunk. That’s the way you think basketball should be played and it was the right play at the end for a guy who really deserved it, and it was nice to see him get it.”

Harvard’s efforts on the offensive glass gave the team 17 second-chance points, compared to just four for the home team. Rebounding has plagued Cornell all year, as the Big Red rank last in the league in rebounds per game. While junior David Onuorah ranks fifth in the Ancient Eight in rebounds, the Big Red doesn’t have another player in the top 25. Harvard, meanwhile, has four players in the top 25, with Edosomwan being the top rebounder in the Ivy League.

Staff writer Theresa C. Hebert can be reached at theresa.hebert@thecrimson.com.