The men's basketball team used a solid overall performance to build a comfortable lead, then held off a late charge to beat Brown (2-15, 1-4 Ivy) last night at Lavietes Pavillion.
Solid defense and perimeter shooting gave Harvard (11-6, 4-1) the lead in the first half, and also opened up the inside game as Harvard took control in the second period.
"The backcourt really carried us tonight," Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said.
In only its second game since an exam period layoff, the Crimson faced a sagging zone for much of the first half. This strategy held the inside scoring duo of seniors Kyle Snowden and Chris Grancio to one shot and four points inside in the first half. This forced Harvard's guards to hit outside jump shots to keep pace with Brown's physical motion offense.
The perimeter responded, as Harvard shot 52.2 percent from the floor in the first half, including 5-12 from behind the three point arc. Led by a 3-3, eight point performance by captain David Demian, the Crimson took a six point lead into halftime.
"The zone was a...reason for concern for us," Sullivan said. "[But] each time they went into a zone, guys hit big shots for us.
Defensively, the Crimson played one of its most consistent, effective games of the year. The Bears managed only a 38.5 percent shooting performance on the night, and leading scorer Aaron Butler was held to 16 points on 6-13 shooting.
"It was solid defensive performance tonight. Shutting down Butler was huge for us throughout the night," Sullivan said.
In the second half, the Crimson got the ball inside to Snowden and Grancio, as the Bears were forced to spread the zone to stop the perimeter onslaught. The two responded with eleven second half points and nine rebounds to complement the perimeter attack.
"We had shots and driving lanes in the first half, and kind of forgot about Snowden on the interior," Demian said. "In the second half, we went back to Kyle."
"They played zone much of the first half, and packed it back, keeping the ball from me," Snowden said. "At halftime, the coach made issue of my only having one shot, and we got the ball into me and Chris in the second half."
Harvard shooting cooled off in the second half, where they shot only 40 percent from the floor. This, and Grancio's time on the bench due to foul trouble, allowed Brown to make a late run, cutting the lead to six with 2:12 to play-the game never got closer than five. Tim Hill hit all four of his late free throws, and reserve center Bill Ewing came on to play solid post defense, including a block, to secure the win.
The win included solid play from a variety of sources. All five starters scored at least eight points, and Grancio, David Weaver, Michael Scott and Snowden all made big plays to stop Brown runs.
"The scoring was spread out tonight, and that's very encouraging," Demian said.
The win keeps Harvard in the thick of the Ivy League race, and puts them in good position as they face Yale tonight before heading south to play league-leading Penn and Princeton next weekend. BROWN: Lesley 5-12 3-4 13; Rowley 3-6 2-2 9; Butler 6-13 2-2 16; Kapetanovic 0-5 0-2 0; Krasinski 4-8 2-2 10; Vandiver 0-2 0-0 0; White 1-4 0-0 2; Forbes 0-0 0-0 0; Rountree 1-1 2-2 4; Newburn 0-0 1-2 1; Sewer 0-0 00-0 0; Perry 0-0 0-0 0; Catapano 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 20-52 12-14 55. HARVARD: Hill 5-13 5-6 15; Demian 3-6 0-0 8; Scott 5-9 3-6 14; Snowden 5-8 0-0 10; Grancio 2-8 3-5 8; Weaver 2-4 0-0 6; Beam 0-0 0-0 0; Ewing 1-2 0-0 2. TOTALS: 23-50 11-17 63.
