After stealing the ball just outside of the lane on Penn's end of the court, Merchant exploded to the hoop and was fouled on the way up. Unfortunately for Penn, Merchant finished the dunk with bravado and ignited the sellout crowd at Lavietes Pavilion.
"The Merchant dunk was a big momentum play, and we have to stop those types of plays to win games like these," Dunphy said.
After the dust settled from the dunk, Harvard was up 27-22 and carried the momentum into the locker room, leading 33-29 at the half.
"At halftime, we talked about not being satisfied with just 20 minutes of basketball," Clemente said. "You need to play all 40 (minutes) to win."
The Crimson followed the advice of its captain and pieced together an even better second half.
Harvey, who was held scoreless in the first half, erupted in the second half with 15 points, two assists and two steals.
Harvard maintained its halftime lead and extended it throughout the second half. The 15-point margin of victory was the Crimson's largest lead of the night.
"It was surprising [to win by so much]," Sullivan said. "They have very good talent and to beat a team like that is encouraging."
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