Three players finished in double figures, as Berry led the Crimson with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Lippert and Markley added 17 and 12 points, respectively.

“I had to do as much as I can to get us back in the game, whether it’s scoring, playing defense, getting rebounds, or passing,” Berry said.

While the Crimson picked up its defensive intensity, the team still managed to lose the battle on the boards, a facet of the game that was one of Harvard’s weaknesses last season. Even with Markley and Wheeler inside the paint, Maine held the rebounding edge, 44-38.

“We didn’t win in that statistics column,” Delaney-Smith said. “I’ll be curious to see where we failed, because we’re an entirely different team regarding rebounds. What we did really well was rotate, and sometimes it’s just the luck of the draw that the ball doesn’t come your way.”

“Today wasn’t the best day for us on the boards, but we’re improving overall in practice,” Berry added. “Maine’s a great rebounding team offensively, and they had a couple guards who really crashed hard. Sometimes it’s hard to find those players. We’re going to get better from here on out.”

By notching its first win, Harvard has finally gotten its season underway.

“We didn’t start very well, but we finished really well, and that’s all that really matters,” Delaney-Smith said.

—Staff writer Kevin T. Chen can be reached at ktchen@fas.harvard.edu.