The dominant pair totaled 41 points on the night, and Wright’s 14 rebounds gave the veteran his ninth double-double of the year.
With the Crimson frontcourt converting underneath, the squad’s shooters began to heat up from the perimeter, especially with both teams content to ramp up the game’s pace.
Four minutes into the half, sophomore guard Brandyn Curry sprinted down the court in transition and found Webster in the left corner for a three-pointer that brought Harvard within 13.
After a Brown miss, Curry—who had sustained an ankle injury the night before—pushed the tempo again, this time finding Rivard on the right wing for a triple to cut the deficit to 10.
After both squads traded baskets, it was again Curry who helped bring it to single digits, driving to the basket and kicking it out to Rivard for another three.
Webster’s turn came nearly two minutes later, when he took a swing pass from Rivard and knocked down a left wing triple, making the score 64-60 with 10:12 to play and setting off the traditional “I believe that we will win” chant by the now-revitalized crowd.
By then, the Bears’ fate was almost inevitable.
The long-range tries that had come so easily in the first half were no longer falling, and when Brown made it to the hoop, it had to contend with Wright and Casey, who combined for eight blocks on the night.
The Bears also appeared to have caught the turnover bug that had plagued Harvard in the first half.
Reveling in the spirit of the moment, Curry made a nifty steal and threw the ball ahead to Wright, whose two-handed fast-break dunk made it 64-62 with 9:26 left.
Brown missed yet again, and this time Curry kept it himself, holding up three fingers to the fans after nailing a straight-on three to give the Crimson a 65-64 advantage.
Though a difficult fall-away jumper from Brown’s Tucker Halpern provided the third lead change of the night, the Bears would turn it over on their next time down the floor, setting up another three by Webster.
The sharpshooter’s second-half spurt represented a strong recovery from his 0-for-7 performance from the field in the first half.
“Coach told me to keep shooting, and shooters shoot, so I just kept shooting,” Webster said. “I found my rhythm.”
His squad’s hopes slowly slipping away, Halpern launched a long three but was unable to convert.
Casey punctuated the 39-13 run with an athletic move in the post, earning a three-point play and a hug from his teammate Wright.
Though Harvard did not play flawlessly the rest of the way, the lead would reach as large as 11 for the Crimson, which hit the necessary free throws to cement the win.
—Staff writer Dennis J. Zheng can be reached at dzheng12@college.harvard.edu.