Aiken learns how to finish
Nails winning 3 to lift Crimson
Bryce Aiken had made two free throws to give Harvard a three-point lead in overtime yesterday, and UMass called a timeout with 17 seconds left. In the Crimson huddle, they discussed the scenarios.
Both teams had faced the same situation in regulation. With time winding down, UMass guard Luwane Pipkins drilled a contested 3 to tie the game with six seconds left, then Aiken drove down the floor and missed a layup at the buzzer.
Aiken was ready if the same situation unfolded again, and the Harvard point guard let his coach know.
“We didn’t want them to get the 3,” Aiken said. “But we were talking about it and I said, ‘If there’s still time left on the clock, just give me the ball. I got it. I’ll win it for us.’ ”
“I said, ‘You got it this time, right?’ ” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. Sure enough, Pipkins made another 3 to tie the game with eight seconds left. But Aiken had redemption on his mind. He dribbled down, stepped back at the top of the 3-point arc and splashed the gamewinner with 1.9 seconds to go to give the Crimson a heart-stopping, 70-67 victory against UMass.
Harvard had timeouts left, but Amaker prefers to play through what he calls a “broken floor” with that much time left. The idea is to not allow the defense to get set. And he has trust in his sophomore guard to make a play.
“I can’t thank my teammates and my coaches enough for having the faith in me for allowing me to put that shot up,” said Aiken, who finished with a game-high 30 points.
Said Amaker: “It’s the kind of situation he loves to be in. That’s how he’s wired.”
Harvard (2-0) didn’t win without a massive fight from UMass (1-1). After some ugly basketball most of the day, there were 10 lead changes in the final 10:23 of regulation, which included a wild last 1:12.
Pipkins, who finished with 23 points, completed a three-point play to give the Minutemen a 53-51 lead with 1:12 to go. Then, in the span of 20 seconds, Aiken found Corey Johnson for 3, Pipkins countered with a layup and Aiken answered with a layup to give Harvard a 56-55 lead.
On the ensuing UMass possession, Pipkins traveled. But after Aiken made two free throws, the Minuteman guard responded by tying it.
“I was really, really proud of our team,” UMass coach Matt McCall said. “I thought we showed tremendous resilience and perseverance. Some things didn’t go our way and we didn’t flinch.”
Harvard didn’t either, and it responded to Pipkins’ shot with poise. Amaker said his team practices five-minute overtimes every day in practice, and it showed.
“We all felt prepared,” Crimson forward Chris Lewis said.
Aiken said the way Harvard won revealed something about the team’s character.
“This game showed us that our team matured a lot,” Aiken said. “Because I don’t know what would have happened if we were in this position last year, but … it’s a great sign of growth and maturity.”