Notebook: Men's Basketball Picks Up Dominant Senior Night Win

Under the leadership of its three seniors, the Harvard men’s basketball team capped off the 2015-2016 season with a commanding win over Penn (11-16, 5-8 Ivy League), 74-56.

With the win, the Crimson (14-16, 6-8) ends the regular season on a three-game win streak and claims sole ownership of fourth place in the Ancient Eight. Barring a Penn victory over Princeton next Wednesday, Harvard will end the season as the only team in the league’s bottom five to beat Princeton, Yale, or Columbia.

ZEROING IN ON ZENA

Junior forward Zena Edosomwan was absent the last time Harvard faced the Killer P’s, but Amaker and his team benefited from having the Los Angeles native back in full force this weekend, as the junior had arguably his most complete game of the season on Saturday.

Though he fell just shy of finishing the season with a double-double average, Edosomwan snagged 14 rebounds in each of the final two games. By adding 11 points, he finished with his 12th double-double of the year and even added a season-high seven assists to his stat sheet.

But even more important than Edosomwan’s statistics were the lack of notes in the stat sheet for the Penn frontcourt. The distinction was especially notable in the first half, when Edosomwan snagged 10 of his 14 rebounds and limited Quaker forward Darien Nelson-Henry to just four points.

“He’s been a monster for us, especially today in this game—he was blocking shots, rebounding, scoring in the post, he was hedging, doing everything for us,” Okolie said. “We didn’t have him last time we played Penn and he was really excited to go against Nelson-Henry and show his competitive fire. It’s been amazing to watch him grow.”

With sophomore Chris Egi out with a concussion, there was additional pressure on Edosomwan to stay out of foul trouble, which has plagued him throughout the season. The junior had just one foul on Saturday—a flagrant on Nelson-Henry in the first half.

SENIOR SENDOFF

Seniors Patrick Steeves, Agunwa Okolie, and captain Evan Cummins were honored before the game as they took the floor for the final time at Lavietes Pavilion. While the trio’s performance was not as flashy as the previous night—when they combined for ___ points in a nail-biting victory over Princeton—the group steadied a Crimson team that has been defined by its youth all season.

After three seasons that ended in the NCAA Tournament, the class of 2016 was new to being in the middle of the pack. However, Harvard coach Tommy Amaker noted that the seniors were able to steady the squad through up and downs, including a 1-5 start to the Ivy League season, before Harvard closed out the campaign by winning four of its final games.

“I’m just really proud of our senior class,” Amaker said. “I thought that the way they’ve played here down the stretch to finish our season in a very positive way with the sweep of the weekend which we haven’t had that all season.”

Okolie was particularly crucial both in Saturday’s win and in the Ivy League season as a whole. Despite being known for his perimeter defense, the Ajax, Ont. native demonstrated in conference play that he is not a one-trick pony. After scoring in double digits just six times in nonconference play, Okolie averaged 13.2 per game during the Ivy season. Against the Quakers, the senior notched 16 points and was one rebound shy of his fourth double-double in Ivy play.

Steeves added seven points, four rebounds, and two assists while Cummins was a defensive force in the paint, registering three blocks. His rejections moved him into the Harvard record books at 10th all time in both career and single-season blocks.

“It feels kind of sad but also kind of happy all at the same time,” Okolie said. “I’ve had an unbelievable experience here with the coaching staff, coach Amaker, and being with an amazing group of guys each of my four years here. It’s just like kind of sad because it goes by so fast and you kind of want it to last forever because you don’t get to do this again.”

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