Harvard senior shooting guard Patrick Harvey scored eight points in 27 minutes, good enough to reach the 1,000-point milestone for his career, but still well below his usual production. Harvey, who is just the 21st player in school history to reach that scoring plateau, netted half of his points Friday at the free throw line and had just four attempts from the floor.
Plagued by a foot problem this year, Harvey is averaging 13.4 points per game, almost five points below his scoring pace as a junior. He is shooting just over 32 percent (28-for-86) from the field through the season’s first seven games.
“It’s unfair to just look at the statistics because [Harvey’s] taking a lot of attention from other people,” Merchant said. “I’ve been able to score some points and Elliott has, too. When Elliott drives past a guy, we don’t have to worry about that extra defender.”
“For us, he’s the same Pat he’s always been,” Sigafoos added. “His numbers are down, but whatever.”
So far, the effect of Harvey’s quiet start has been alleviated by increased production from his teammates. That trend continued Saturday. Besides Merchant—whose game-high output Friday came on the heels of a career-best 25-point effort at Rider—Harvard received another healthy showing from its frontcourt. Senior Sam Winter had 12 points, freshman center Brian Cusworth contributed a career-high 11 points and Sigafoos added 10.
Sophomore guard Kevin Rogus also had six points off the bench on a pair of threes.
Colgate (3-5) outrebounded Harvard 35-33 and forced 17 Harvard turnovers, compared to just 12 by the Red Raiders. But the Crimson’s suffocating field-goal defense won out, as it held Colgate to just 37.9 shooting for the game, including 34 percent during the first half.
The Red Raiders shot just 1-of-9 from the three-point line in that frame, which proved decisive. Though the Crimson let Colgate creep to within two points after halftime, Harvard never relinquished the lead.
The Crimson returns home tomorrow night for a 7 p.m. meeting with Vermont. A year ago, the Catamounts scorched the Crimson 74-54 in Burlington, Vt., on the strength of a 23-4 first-half run.
After Vermont, Harvard will host Mercer on Thursday.
“These next two games are pretty big for us,” Cusworth said. “We’re 1-2 at home right now and we know we’re capable of a better percentage than that.”
—Staff writer Brian E. Fallon can be reached at bfallon@fas.harvard.edu.
M. HOOPS 76, COLGATE 71
at Hamilton, N.Y.
HARVARD (5-2) Prasse-Freeman 2-3 3-5 8, Merchant 8-11 0-2 18, Harvey 2-4 4-6 8, Winter 5-9 0-1 12, Sigafoos 4-5 2-2 10, Rogus 2-4 0-0 6, Stehle 0-1 0-0 0, Beal 0-0 0-0 0, Norman 0-0 0-0 0, Beatty 1-2 1-1 3, Cusworth 4-5 3-3 11. Totals 28-44 13-20 76.
COLGATE (3-5) Blue 6-13 6-9 18, Hardy 4-10 3-4 13, Linebaugh 3-12 2-4 9, Sullivan 2-7 0-0 5, Zidar 3-7 2-4 8, Ballard 1-2 0-0 3, Williams 0-3 0-0 0, Shirley 1-1 1-1 3, Marek 0-2 0-0 0, Reed 5-9 0-1 12. Totals 25-66 14-23 71.
Halftime—Harvard 40, Colgate 28. Three-Point Goals—Harvard 7-12 (Prasse-Freeman 1-2, Merchant 2-4, Winter 2-2, Rogus 2-4), Colgate 7-22 (Hardy 2-3, Linebaugh 1-6, Sullivan 1-5, Ballard 1-2, Williams 0-2, Reed 2-4). Fouled out—Sigafoos. Rebounds—Harvard 33 (Merchant 7), Colgate 35 (Blue 12). Assists—Harvard 15 (Prasse-Freeman 9), Colgate 12 (Linebaugh 3). Total Fouls—Harvard 19, Colgate 22. A—418.