The Crimson slowly clawed its way back into the game in the second half. Harvard cut the deficit to seven early in the half but was unable to get any closer until a Wright layup cut the lead to five with just under nine minutes to play.

St. Joe’s pushed the lead back to seven before Hawks sophomore forward Halil Kanacevic drew an ill-timed technical foul. McNally sank the ensuing free throws to close the gap, and a three-point play from Casey cut the St. Joseph’s lead to two as the momentum began to swing.

But a Hawks free throw and a jumper from Aiken pushed the Crimson’s deficit to five with under six minutes to play.

With the game winding down, Wright scored two on a put-back to pull the Crimson to within three. On Harvard’s next possession, Casey picked up an offensive rebound and drew a foul as he finished the layup. The score brought the Crimson to within one, the junior but couldn’t convert on what would have been the game-tying free throw.

Once again, the Hawks tried to pull away. Jones stole a pass on the Crimson’s next possession and scored in transition to put St. Joseph’s up, 68-65, with just over three minutes to play.

But from that point on, Harvard took control. Casey nailed a fall-away jumper, Curry’s layup gave Harvard a one-point lead, and Casey drove home the dagger as he nailed a three-pointer with just over 30 seconds to play.

“We’re a veteran team, we’ve been in situations like this before,” Casey said. “We knew we weren’t going to come back in one shot.”

—Staff writer James M. Acer can be reached at jacer@college.harvard.edu.