The Harvard men’s basketball team had its best chance of the season to capture its first win Monday night.

Instead, all it got was its most heartbreaking defeat yet, a 101-95 overtime setback to Rider at Lavietes Pavilion.

The Crimson (0-10) had a chance to win the game in regulation at the buzzer, but junior guard Kevin Rogus had his three-point attempt blocked by Edwin Muniz.

In overtime, the Broncs (6-3) hit all eight of their shots from the floor and got seven points—including the last five of the game—from guard Jerry Johnson as they put Harvard away.

“We didn’t play any defense in overtime,” sophomore forward Matt Stehle said.

With Rider already leading by one, Johnson hit a three-pointer with 32 seconds to play in overtime to make it a two-possession game.

After junior Graham Beatty couldn’t handle an interior pass from Stehle, Johnson broke free behind the Crimson press and finished a layup for the final margin.

“We do lack the mental toughness and the expertise with the ball in end-of-game situations,” Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said.

Junior captain Jason Norman had put the Crimson ahead by one with a steal and a reverse jam with 2:03 to play in overtime before Rider center Steve Castleberry carved out inside position and took the lead back with a layup twenty seconds later.

But overtime wouldn’t have been necessary if Harvard had held on in regulation.

The Crimson led by a bucket after Beatty tipped in a Norman miss with 31 seconds remaining in the second half, but Bronc Robert Taylor drove and converted a layup to tie it with 13 seconds left.

Harvard twice battled back from 11-point deficits to tie the game, first with a 9-0 run over the first 1:39 after halftime and then with an 8-0 run spurred by six points from sophomore forward Luke McCrone midway through the second half.

All night, the Crimson benefited from significant contributions from unlikely sources.

McCrone nearly tripled his previous career high with 16 points—10 in the first half—on 7-of-8 shooting in just 15 minutes.

Freshman point guard Ko Yada gave Harvard 17 key minutes—almost matching his previous career total of 18—including the final 13:42 of the second half, when he orchestrated the Crimson’s comeback from a 63-53 deficit.