Men's Basketball Beats Holy Cross for First Time in Five Seasons

Bench and balance might be Coach Tommy Amaker two favorite words to describe this season’s basketball team, and for good reason. Four days after outscoring the Saint Mary’s bench by a 31-2 margin en route to a seven-point road victory, the Crimson reserves proved to be the catalysts for a 73-62 home win over Holy Cross.

Despite missing Seth Towns, Bryce Aiken, and Chris Lewis for a second consecutive game, the Crimson (4-3) rolled to its most complete victory of the season and is hitting its stride halfway through the non-conference slate.

The Crusaders (4-3) entered the game on a three-game win streak, and with history on their side between the two teams. Harvard had not recorded a victory over Holy Cross since the 2013-2014 season, a campaign that saw the Crimson win the Ivy League before upsetting No. 5 Cincinnati in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Harvard will hope this victory over in-state foe Holy Cross (4-3) is a step in the right direction towards emulating the 2013-2014 year, which marks the last time the Crimson won an NCAA Tournament game. Beating quality non-conference teams, without the teams leading scorers, is a harbinger of good things to come for coach Amaker’s team.

Despite the final scoreline, the contest was not without its excitement. A 12-0 Crusaders’ run threatened the Crimson late in the second half, but a slashing layup by freshman Noah Kirkwood extended the Harvard lead to nine points with under four minutes remaining, quelling the hopes of a Holy Cross comeback.

The Ottawa, Ontario native finished with a career-high and team-high 20 points, one of several career-highs for Harvard players on Wednesday night. Kirkwood had a near-perfect evening from the field, only missing one three-pointer across his eight shots from the field.

“I’m impressed in some ways but not surprised because this is what we think we were getting when we were able to get [Noah] to come [to Harvard],” coach Amaker said. “He's pretty crafty with his ability to drive and make plays. He's a tremendous playmaker, and pretty efficient here tonight with his three point shooting.”

Breaking a four-game losing streak to the Crusaders would be no easy task for the hosts, as Holy Cross brought a vocal group of fans down the Mass Pike, and opened the game with a flurry of shots. A Harvard bench that would eventually outscore its counterparts by a 42-12 mark was key in seizing back momentum in the first half, in large part due to junior forward Robert Baker.

The Woodstock, Ga,. native tallied a career-high three steals, and was one of the key cogs towards the end of the first half, helping Harvard to a 40-29 halftime lead.

“I just want to be active, focusing on getting a lot of rebounds and being as active as I could,” Baker said. “Being in the passing lanes, that kind of thing just supercharged our team and getting everybody going. That was my focus.”

The Crimson were able to weather a storm from Holy Cross, as potential injury was of greater concern than the scoreboard early in the first half. Already without the team’s three-leading scorers, junior wing Justin Bassey hit the floor hard after trying to take a charge just over three minutes into the game. The Denver, Colo. native would limp to the locker room, but much to the relief of coach Amaker and Harvard, Bassey would return midway through the first half.

Undeterred by a slow start, and the Crusaders’ legion of fans, the Crimson responded with a flurry of freshmen three-pointers. As the Holy Cross fan base cheered on its lineup, first-year players’ Kirkwood and Spencer Freedman took turns burying three-pointers. The backcourt duo, along with freshman Mason Forbes, registered 16 of the team’s first 24 points, and embodied the team’s next man up mentality.

On Saturday night in the victory over the Gaels, junior forward Henry Welsh scored a career-high 15 points, and tonight it was Kirkwood, Baker, and Corey Johnson leading the way for Harvard.

Johnson, whose prolific three-point shot had eluded him until Wednesday, was a surprise addition to the starting lineup for Coach Amaker. Electing to start the struggling senior didn’t pay dividends until the second half, but trusting the experienced guard would pay off for Amaker. On the opening possession of the second half, Johnson splashed a three-pointer, which he followed up with a hustle play leading to a fast-break layup, and yet another three-pointer. The six points marked a season-high for the cagey veteran, whose experience and contributions will be relied upon for Harvard to reach an Ivy League title.

Despite a strong night off the bench for the Crimson, the hosts struggled to defend Holy Cross’ sophomore guard Jacob Grandison. Grandison, who entered the game leading the team with almost 16 points per contest, was the latest in a line of explosive shooters who have tormented Harvard this season.

The Oakland, Calif., native scored 21 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from behind the arc, and was one of the lone bright spots for the Crusaders. Grandison was a non factor in last season’s 73-69 Holy Cross win in Worcester, but had no trouble imposing his will on the Crimson defense. Despite turning the ball over 19 times, Harvard was able to clamp down, due to a balanced offense that featured seven scorers tallying six or more points apiece.

The second half provided plenty of highlight reel moments for the hosts. As Holy Cross applied the press to Freedman, the first-year player threw a perfect lob pass across the court to Baker, who swung through the air for an alley-oop dunk. On the following play, the freshman took a charge on the defensive side, before tossing a carbon-copy lob to Baker for yet another alley-oop slam, sending the Lavietes pavilion crowd into a frenzy.

“It’s nice to see Robert have somewhat of a breakout,” coach Amaker said. “Getting stuff over the top with alley-oops and Spencer was able to find him a few times, you can see his confidence growing a bit.”

As the team hits the road again to take on Siena and Vermont, coach Amaker will continue to rely on his bench and the next man up mentality. The selflessness and sacrifice of this team will be crucial if the Crimson hope to find success in conference play and beyond.

“Every game I feel like it’s just whoever’s going,” Kirkwood said. “I think we have a good team dynamic right now that we don’t really care who’s getting minutes as long as we’re winning games.”

After traveling to Albany, N.Y., and Burlington, V.T., Harvard will return to Lavietes Pavilion on December 22nd, to take on the George Washington Colonials.

— Staff writer Amir Mamdani can be reached at amir.mamdani@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @AMamdaniTHC.