While the zone created several open shots for Harvard, it also led to a smattering of Crimson turnovers. The Huskies turned a 34-24 halftime deficit into a 40-39 lead after several transition baskets. At one point, the Crimson coughed up the ball on three straight possessions, each of which led to baskets at the other end.

Harvard committed 22 turnovers overall.

“We weren’t moving around much on offense,” Harvey said. “We were too perimeter-oriented, settling for jump shots instead of getting the ball down low.”

Sullivann attributed the lull to the team’s practices.

“Not to make excuses for the guys, but it’s really just lack of practice time,” Sullivan said. “We’ve gone through 10 days with only nine guys. You can try and use your imagination, but it’s hard to prepare for the zone that way.”

If Harvard’s ability to overcome adversity and the trap left Sullivan satisfied, the Crimson’s play in the paint left him beaming. Harvard established a strong defensive presence in the paint early in the game as Coleman and Winter harassed the Huskies down low. Northeastern shot 34.6 percent in the first half.

“Right now, we’re playing about as well as we could play, given practice time,” Sullivan said. “Our field-goal defense is better right now than it’s beeen in a couple of years.”

The Huskies shot over 50 percent in the second half, but most of those came on transition scores in the up-tempo offense that brought the Huskies back from the early deficit.

Notes

Wright suffered abdominal pains after the game and collapsed on the pavement on his way to the team bus. He was taken to an area hospital...Junior Brady Merchant continued his efficiency off the bench, scoring nine points in 13 minutes...Freshmen Jason Norman and Kevin Rogus both saw action in addition to Beatty.