Griffin’s three, which came with 15:36 left on the clock, marked the Big Green’s 40th point of the contest. Dartmouth scored just two points over the next 13:02 and 10 points throughout the remainder of the contest.
Crucial to Harvard’s defensive success was the switch back to the matchup zone and the play of Brown, a 6’3” point guard.
After seeing limited action in the Crimson’s first 14 contests, the rookie played significant minutes Saturday afternoon filling in for the injured Christian Webster—who missed Saturday’s matchup with a hip injury.
Brown was a key factor in 15 minutes of play, particularly on the defensive end, where he picked up a team-high three steals.
“I thought Matt Brown came in and gave us a great shot in the arm defensively,” Amaker said. “It was nice to see him step forward with a few shots, but his presence, his defense, and his toughness out there were a big key for us.”
“I think Matt Brown came off the bench and really had a sense of urgency in the way he played,” McNally echoed. “He gave a spark that nobody else was giving. I honestly believe without him, we would have lost.”
Brown’s classmate and former high school teammate at Northfield Mount Hermon School, Laurent Rivard, began the process of chipping away at the visitor’s lead.
Rivard got a tough layup to fall, and then, following two free throws from McNally, sank a three from the right corner.
Two possessions later, Brown pulled the home team within two, drilling a trey off an extra pass from Rivard.
David Rufful put his team back up by four with a midrange jumper, but Harvard used the charity stripe to continue its assault on Dartmouth’s lead.
Four straight free throws from sophomore Brandyn Curry evened the score with 7:22 to play. The Crimson took the lead moments later, when Curry cut to the lane and dumped off a pass to junior co-captain Keith Wright, who finished with a two-handed slam.
Two free throws and a deep ball from McNally and a layup from Curry over the next three minutes of play made it 51-42 Harvard with 2:58 to play, and Harvard cruised to the victory.
“I was pretty disappointed with the way we came out, and that falls on Keith and my shoulders,” McNally said. “With that said, it showed a lot that we were able to turn it loose at the end. That was pretty impressive, but that’s got to be a forty-minute thing. You can’t play 10 minutes of good basketball.”
—Staff writer Martin Kessler can be reached at martin.kessler@college.harvard.edu.