Tough lesson for Harvard
Crimson let Princeton slip away
If Harvard is going to return to the top of the Ivy League this season, it’ll at least have to go through Princeton. The Crimson learned as much last night.
But Harvard isn’t too far off.
Steven Cook scored a game-high 19 points for Princeton, including the game-winner with 2.9 seconds to go, as the Tigers stunned the Crimson, 5756, in a thriller between the league’s top teams at Lavietes Pavilion.
Harvard (12-7, 4-2) led by three in the waning seconds when Myles Stephens decided against pulling up for a game-tying 3-pointer from the left corner. Instead, he drove hard to the basket, where he made a layup as he was fouled by Justin Bassey, setting it up a potential gametying and-one opportunity.
Stephens missed the free throw, but in a wild sequence, Cook was there for the rebound, and he banked in the winner. After a timeout, Harvard’s Robert Baker threw the inbounds pass the length of the court to Chris Lewis, who dished it to Corey Johnson, but his game-winning 3-point attempt hit back iron.
“I don’t know how you draw it up any worse than that,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said of how his team lost. “We just needed to get one stop or one defensive rebound.”
With the victory, Princeton (12-6, 5-0) stayed atop the league. It was the Tigers’ first win here since 2010.
The wild sequence erased what had been an impressive comeback for Harvard. The Crimson trailed by as many as 13 early in the second half before rallying to take the lead in the final minutes.
Freshman forward Chris Lewis was the spark. Trailing 40-29, he made backto-back steals that led to breakaways. He finished with a dunk on the first one before Princeton’s Will Gladson was assessed a flagrant foul on the second.
For Harvard, Siyani Chambers was a catalyst down the stretch. The senior point guard scored eight of his 17 inside the final seven minutes, including a pair of free throws that tied the game with 2:32 left. Bryce Aiken then followed with a pull-up 3-pointer that gave the Crimson their first lead since the first half, and Harvard led until the final-second meltdown.
“We didn’t close, we didn’t finish,” Amaker said. “It’s a tough one to lose, no question about it.”
In other games: James Madison 73, Northeastern 69 — Jackson Kent scored on a breakaway layup after a loose ball scramble left three players on the floor, and Shakir Brown made four straight free throws as the Dukes (7-18, 5-7 Colonial Athletic Association) rallied in the final minute to edge the Huskies (13-11, 6-6) in Harrisonburg, Va. UMass-Lowell 60, Binghamton 59 — Jahad Thomas scored 19 points with five assists and five rebounds as River Hawks (10-15, 4-6 America East) rallied in the second half to edge the Bearcats (12-13, 3-7) in Lowell.
UMBC 83, Maine 71 — Will Darley hit six 3-pointers and finished with 31 points and the Retrievers (16-7, 7-3 America East) topped the Black Bears (5-20, 1-9) in Bangor, Maine. Sacred Heart 73, Bryant 70 — Quincy McKnight made 9-of-10 free throws and finished with 25 points to help the Pioneers (10-14, 5-7 Northeast Conference) beat the Bulldogs (8-17, 5-7) in Fairfield, Conn.
Babson 62, WPI 45 — Joey Flannery of Acton scored a game-high 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals to help the top-ranked Beavers (20-1, 10-0 NEWMAC) to a Division 3 win over the Engineers (14-7, 5-5) in Worcester. Isaiah Nelsen of North Andover finished with 10 rebounds.
Women
Amherst 36, Tufts 35 — Hannah Hackley of Westford converted a threepoint play with 1:18 on the clock and Jaimie Renner of Newton forced a turnover with one second remaining as the second-ranked Purple & White (22-0, 8-0 NESCAC) clipped the topranked Jumbos (21-1, 8-1) in a thrilling battle of undefeated Division 3 powers in Medford. Ali Doswell had a game-best 17 points for the Purple & White. Holy Cross 63, Bucknell 51 — Infiniti Thomas-Waheed of Newton led the Crusaders (6-16, 4-7 Patriot League) with 26 points during an upset win over the Bison (17-5, 9-2) in Worcester. Davidson 63, UMass 59 — Justine Lyon pumped in 34 points for the Wildcats (419, 2-9) to offset a 22-point effort by Alyx Stiff for the Minutewomen (9-16, 3-9) during this Atlantic 10 game in Amherst. Boston University 75, Lafayette 58 — Vanessa Edgehill of Franklin came off the bench to score 11 points as the Terriers (8-14, 6-5 Patriot League) topped the Leopards (1-22, 0-11) in Easton, Pa. Princeton 63, Harvard 58 — Gabrielle Lynch came off the bench to score 18 points as the Tigers (9-9, 3-2 Ivy) upended the Crimson (16-3, 4-2) in Princeton, N.J.