The Crimson wouldn’t relinquish its lead for the rest of the game, with GW never pulling within less than two. Up 62-60 with a minute to go, Casey hit a layup and McNally came up with a big steal off of Taylor. The co-captain dished the ball out to Curry, who was fouled and hit one free throw to give Harvard a five-point lead.

“Taylor was a really tough driver,” McNally said. “He was a pretty tough guy to guard. [But] he let down for that one play, and Brandyn did a good job making free throws down the stretch.”

Two free throws by Byrnes with 17 seconds remaining pulled the Colonials within three, but McNally—second in the nation in free-throw percentage at 94.3 percent—iced the game with two free throws of his own to give Harvard the 67-62 win.

It was the fifth straight win for the Crimson, who finished its nonconference schedule with momentum heading into Ivy play. But the victory was not without loss, as Webster—who is from the DC area and whose father played at GW—and Wright left with injury.

Curry said he thought both were day-to-day. Though the injuries were a setback to the game plan, Curry and McNally were both proud of their teammates’ ability to step up to the challenge.

“It was a really good win for us,” McNally said. “Especially on the road against a good team.”

“I think it shows how deep our team can be,” Curry added. “We got big minutes from Ugo [Okam], [Andrew Van] Nest, and Matt Brown. Those guys came in and gave us great minutes all around. It was really a team victory.”

—Staff writer Scott A. Sherman can be reached at ssherman13@college.harvard.edu.