On the next possession, Holy Cross forward Tim Szatko made two free throws to tie the game.

Neither team could pull away in the two minutes. Both teams traded missed shots and turnovers amidst generally sloppy play. In one sequence, the teams committed three straight turnovers in 20 seconds.

But in the end, Holy Cross's size paid off. With just 1:54 left, Sankes gathered his sixth offensive rebound of the game and laid the ball in to give the Crusaders a 57-55 advantage.

Harvard's best chance to tie the game came with a minute left in the contest, when guard Andrew Gellert dove for a lose ball under Holy Cross's goal and called timeout lying on the floor to keep possession.

Harvard got the ball into Clemente's hands, but the forward missed a tough mid-range shot. The Crimson got one more opportunity with 30 seconds left when Sankes missed the front end of a one-and-one, but again failed to convert when center Sam Winter airballed a three from the corner. Holy Cross got the rebound and increased its lead to four with two free throws. The game was effectively over.

The Crusader's size and 13 offensive rebounds negated a strong Crimson defensive performance. Using tight man-to-man coverage for most of the game, Harvard harassed the Crusaders into shooting 37.5 percent from the field, including a dismal 9-for-29 in the second half.

"The issue wasn't our defense, which is odd, because it usually is," Prasse-Freeman said.

Harvard was most effective defensively at the beginning of each half. The Crimson held the Crusaders without a field goal for almost seven minutes at the start of the game. After falling behind 34-32 at halftime, Harvard regained the lead by forcing turnovers on Holy Cross's first three possessions.