Harvard encountered trouble finishing throughout the second, nabbing only one second-chance point relative to the 13 it accrued throughout the first half.

Part of the early success could be attributed to Harvard’s performance down low. Harvard kept up in the paint throughout the first half, generating 20 points and 23 rebounds relative to UConn’s 21 and 19. As has been the case throughout the season, the Crimson received large boosts from its bench; nonstarters generated 27 points on the day and ample substitutions kept Harvard fresh against UConn’s athletic starting line.

Offensively, the UConn backcourt wreaked havoc on the Crimson throughout the first half. Dyson and Walker combined for 28 points and six assists.

After halftime, Dyson’s pace was slowed as the star guard went 1-12, but his final stats—24 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists—still demonstrate a clear dominance against Harvard.

“There’s a lesson in the loss,” Amaker said. “Sometimes we’ll find things that will help us get better down the road down the stretch. But we didn’t come here to hang around. We came here to see if we could compete and to see if we could scratch out a win.”

The Crimson will have its fair share of opportunities to apply that lesson as an underdog on the big stage in the near future, as it will challenge Boston College on Wednesday and Georgetown on Dec. 23.

—Staff writer Emmett Kistler can be reached at ekistler@fas.harvard.edu.