Men’s Basketball Toppled by Late Vermont Run, 71-65

BURLINGTON, Vt. — As the clock ticked under two minutes, Harvard was tied with the University of Vermont as the capacity crowd at Patrick Gymnasium rose to its feet. For a second consecutive week, however, sloppy ball security led to a late defeat for the visitors as the Catamounts (7-3) pulled away for a 71-65 comeback victory.

Despite a season-high 17 points from senior guard Corey Johnson, the Crimson (4-5) struggled mightily to contain junior forward Anthony Lamb, who exploded for a career-high 37 points.

In addition to scoring 37 of his team’s 71 points, the Rochester, N.Y., native knocked down 14-of-22 field goals, and was the latest in a long line of scorers to catch fire against Harvard this season.

“We certainly couldn’t defend Lamb,” said Amaker of the junior’s outstanding performance. “I thought he was obviously the difference and how he just was inside and out and became a difference for their team.”

Exactly a week after falling to Siena in Albany, N.Y. by a 67-64 mark, Harvard came out firing early Saturday night. Making his first career start in place of the injured Christian Juzang, freshman Spencer Freedman sliced through the defense effectively in the first half, tallying nine points and catalyzing the visitors to a seven-point lead.

“He’s a great playmaker, a great point guard,” said Johnson of the first-year point guard’s performance. “He really leads the team well for a freshman on the floor. Just really excited to see his growth and development throughout the season.”

In addition to knocking down three first-half three-pointers, Freedman was integral in freeing up open looks for Johnson. The Ottawa, Ontario native, who had struggled early in the season, broke free in a big way, burying five first-half threes of his own. After starring in his time at Vermont Academy, Johnson registered his most impressive game of the season thus far in his return to the Green Mountain State.

“My teammates did a great job of finding me in transition,” Johnson said of his performance. “I was just trying to make and take open shots like my role on the team.”

Johnson and Freedman’s three-point explosions helped the Crimson end the first half on a 25-9 run against a team that had won three consecutive games, after trailing by as many as nine points in the early going.

“This is obviously a really good team and program and a tough place to play,” coach Tommy Amaker said. “I thought we brought great effort and energy and played a tremendous first half - we shot the ball pretty well.”

The three-point barrage early on was a welcome sight for Harvard, who had star forward Chris Lewis back in the lineup after missing three games. Lewis was held mostly in check by Lamb, who registered an impressive effort on both ends of the floor.

Ultimately, the Crimson was undone by its poor ball-handling, which has plagued the team frequently throughout the season. Despite owning a 38-24 advantage on the glass, Harvard’s shoddy ball security gave the Catamounts too many opportunities to claw their way back into the game in the second half.

The Crimson turned the ball over 21 times — on 32 percent of its possessions — while only forcing seven turnovers from Vermont. Allowing the Catamounts to register a 18-7 advantage on points off turnovers proved to be the difference in a back-and-forth game that featured three ties and seven lead changes.

“They sped us up in the second half,” Amaker said of the team’s struggles. “Other players than our main ball handlers had to make decisions with the ball, and that put is in some bad spots.”

For a second consecutive week, freshman Noah Kirkwood struggled mightily with ball-handling throughout Saturday’s contest. Registering five turnovers and four fouls in his 15 minutes of action, the two-time reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week was only able to score two points. Kirkwood’s foul trouble, along with Juzang’s injury, forced Freedman to play 35 minutes to lead all players for both teams.

Harvard will have a two-week break before its next action, allowing its players to prepare for final exams before hosting George Washington University on December 22nd at Lavietes Pavilion.

The tilt will be a crucial one for the Crimson, who will look to resoundingly rebound from two tough losses, before embarking on its winter break trip to Atlanta and Chapel Hill. With matchups against Mercer College at State Farm Arena and the University of North Carolina looming, Harvard will surely come to play with a sense of urgency against the Colonials.

As the Crimson continue to search for its identity without Seth Towns, Bryce Aiken, and a seemingly revolving-door of injuries to Chris Lewis, Christian Juzang, and several other players, Saturday night marked another speed-bump in a season that the team hopes will end in an Ivy League title.

If Harvard hopes to win the Ancient Eight and receive the NCAA Tournament berth that it accompanies, the team must win away from home. Narrow losses to URI, Siena, and UVM away from Lavietes Pavilion are signs of a team that is still struggling to find its late-game form without Towns and Aiken. To get to the Big Dance, these are problems that the Crimson must solve.

Harvard will host George Washington at 2:00 P.M. on December 22nd, from the friendly confines of Lavietes Pavilion.

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