Clemente played all 40 minutes of the Crimson's 80-69 win against Holy Cross last Tuesday, but also missed five of his first six shots from three-point range.
The Crimson was able to cool off Lehigh in the last seven minutes of the first half. The Mountain Hawks ended up shooting 4-of-13 over the last seven minutes while three-pointers by Gellert and Long shifted the momentum toward Harvard. At halftime, the Crimson was down 31-22, but coming back.
The second half saw almost perfect offensive execution by Harvard. The main problem in the first half had been poor shooting (9-of-26) and 15 turnovers, four by freshman point guard Elliott Prasse-Freeman. Starting in the second half, the roles of the teams had changed.
It was Lehigh that came out slow and mistake-prone. Harvard took advantage of 11 second-half turnovers--most of them in the first 10 minutes of the half--by driving inside and passing out to wide-open perimeter shooters. Gellert and Clemente drained early three's to bring Harvard to within four. Harvard shot 6-of-7 from three-point range in the second, and 8-of-13 for the game.
It was the 21st straight game in which Clemente has hit a three, extending a school mark he set earlier this season.
Lehigh's offense looked lost. The guards held on to the ball too long, leading to poor inside shots and numerous shot clock violations. The Mountain Hawks attempted to revive the press, but by that time the Crimson had solved it and had open shots. Gellert, Long, and junior Tim Coleman continued Harvard's hot three-point shooting as the Crimson jumped out to a 53-46 lead, all with Clemente on the bench with four fouls.
It wasn't just the five straight three-pointers that helped. The Crimson also cut down on the turnovers, committing none until five minutes remained in the game and finishing with only three in the second half.
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