Men's Basketball Defeats MIT in Home Opener

Led by junior Thomas Batties II and senior Chandler Piggé, the Harvard men’s basketball team cruised to a 79–50 win over MIT on Friday. The season opener at Lavietes Pavilion felt like a comfortable tune-up for the Crimson, providing a smooth start to the year against a Division III opponent.

The Engineers’ zone defense initially proved effective, forcing Harvard into three-point attempts. Head Coach Tommy Amaker noted the team’s struggles from deep, saying the Crimson shot “three for 14 in the first half, which is horrible, but we had good looks.”

As the game progressed, Harvard adjusted by attacking off the dribble, opening up the offense and pulling ahead to a decisive 34 - 18 lead by the half.

Harvard also dominated defensively, forcing 12 turnovers and limiting MIT to just 28% from the field and three for 28 from the three. Pigge attributed his three first-half steals to his attentiveness.

“I’m constantly keeping my head on a swivel — if I can get there a bit earlier, it gives me the chance to anticipate a steal or make a play on the ball,” he said.

On offense, the Crimson had a variety of options. Batties led all scorers with 17 points while Piggé had 13 points with 5 assists.

A trio of sophomore guards also added to the barrage of Crimson scoring. Robert Hinton, last year’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year, opened up his campaign with nine points and four rebounds. Tey Barbour led the team in three-pointers, going four for seven from deep. Austin Hunt also stepped into the starting lineup, dropping an efficient three for three from the field and tallying eight points.

Sophomore guard Ben Eisendrath, who was expected to start Friday, was absent due to illness and may not return in time for Sunday’s game.

Amaker highlighted the team’s depth and cohesion as key factors behind its preseason projection of second in the Ivy League.

“I think there’s a good feel and chemistry about this team,” he said. “We can put different combinations out there, and that’s because of the depth of our bench. Bench and balance will be key for us this year.”

The Crimson’s bench production backed that up, outscoring the Engineers 20 to five. The combination of circulating depth, stalwart defense and constant attacking pressure also kept the Engineers from turning the tide in the game.

“The guys here are all bought in and really want to work hard and they really want to learn,” Piggé, a Crimson Sports editor, said of the collection of players on this year’s roster. “For me, it’s just continuing to use my voice and one of the roles here I have is to quarterback our defense and quarterback our team.”

Despite the opening win, the Crimson are still hungry for improvement, with Amaker noting that he wants the team to achieve a higher free throw percentage. Harvard got to the free throw stripe at will but struggled to convert, shooting just 67% from the line.

Still, there was little to nitpick in the strong performance by Harvard. The Crimson will look to carry the momentum forward in its opening week home slate against UNH on Sunday and Northeastern on Tuesday.