“We certainly wanted to see if we could milk it and get the last opportunity,” Amaker said of his team’s strategy coming out of the timeout. “We wanted to see if we could get some penetration and have the ball in [Curry’s] hands to make a play. We did exactly what we wanted, except for obviously making the basket.”
While Amaker was pleased with the final shot his team came up with, the fourth-year coach was not pleased with the production he received from his frontcourt.
Wright—who entered the contest as the Crimson’s leading scorer—was held to 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting while sophomore Kyle Casey was limited physically after getting banged up in Friday’s matchup with Brown.
“We didn’t play particularly well up front for our team,” Amaker said. “Keith really struggled until the second half when he got to the foul line. Our production up front was very limited, and that really hurt us tonight.”
Yale, meanwhile, relied heavily on its frontcourt duo of Kreisberg and junior Greg Mangano to power its squad. Kreisberg notched 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while Mangano added 11 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks.
“I think they are outstanding up front with Kreisberg and Mangano,” Amaker said. “They’re just very difficult to defend.”
While Mangano struggled shooting from the field in the first half, the forward managed to play solid defense on Wright, holding the Ivy League Player of the Year candidate to two points on eight shots.
With Wright’s offensive production limited, the Crimson leaned on Webster and Casey to provide the scoring. The pair combined for 22 of Harvard’s 35 first-half points, sending the Crimson into the break up by four.
But Morgan had the hot hand coming out of the intermission, sinking his first two attempts from beyond the arc to give Yale the lead.
“In the first half, I tried to be patient and let the game come to me,” Morgan said. “In the second half, I was able to take advantage of some breakdowns in the defense that the coaches noticed.”
Despite the loss, the Crimson still controls its destiny heading into its final two Ivy League matchups of the season. If Harvard can pick up a pair of victories, it will guarantee the squad at least a share of Ivy League title.
—Staff writer Martin Kessler can be reached at martin.kessler@college.harvard.edu.