After a Wright layup put the Crimson ahead, 66-48, with 7:39 to go, LMU began to chip at the Crimson advantage in a late attempt to get back in the game.

The Lions’ Godwin Okonji tipped in his own missed jumper on the next LMU possession, and Ireland followed a Webster turnover with a three-point play to cut the lead to 13.

Junior guard Brandyn Curry then turned it over for the Crimson, and two Ireland free throws trimmed the Harvard advantage to 11 at 66-55 with 3:43 remaining.

McNally subsequently gave away the ball for the Crimson’s third consecutive turnover, and after a Lions miss and two McNally free throws, LMU went on a 6-0 run to cut the Harvard lead to 68-61 with 2:40 to go.

But from there, the Crimson settled down and hung on for the victory, with McNally, Curry, and freshman Wesley Saunders going 9-of-10 from the charity stripe down the stretch to give Harvard the 10-point win.

Rivard led the squad with 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting from long distance. McNally added 16 for the Crimson, while the inside combination of Wright and Casey finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Harvard shot better than 50 percent from the floor during the contest, and outrebounded LMU, 41-23.

Ireland led the Lions—who last week knocked off then-No. 20 UCLA on the road—with 26 points.

The victory against a tough non-conference opponent gives the Crimson momentum heading into its Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas next week.

“To come into someone else’s gym and come out with a victory is big,” Wright said. “It definitely feels good getting this win.”

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