HARD TO GUARD

Before UConn forward Niels Giffey converted a dunk with 9:53 remaining in the second half off of a steal from junior guard Shabazz Napier, just three Huskies had scored in the contest. Daniels, Boatright, and Wolf, who finished the game with 23, 16, and four points, respectively, combined for all 37 of their teams points in the opening 30:07 of play.

Notably missing from the scoring list was Napier himself, who leads the Huskies in scoring with 17.2 points per game. Napier ended up with six points—the first of which came off of a three-pointer with 7:39 to play in the game.

“[Napier] played the game, and the game dictated him to pass it,” UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. “He made some wonderful passes…. I give him a lot of kudos. He came back. But we want him to be aggressive; we want him to shoot.”

The guard found other ways to contribute to his team’s victory, earning a season-high nine assists on the night, as well as a game-high four steals and seven rebounds to his stat line.

“Their guards are terrific, with their quickness, and they’re very explosive,” Amaker said. “You know at any given time, they’re capable of having bunches of buckets…. It doesn’t have to be with actually scoring.”

Harvard’s scoring was much more balanced. Sophomore wing Wesley Saunders led the way with 14 points, and classmate Steve Moundou-Missi scored 10 of his own, as seven Crimson players added points to the Harvard total.

The Crimson’s bench outscored its UConn counterpart, 12-8, on the game.

According to Ollie, limiting the guards’ impact—particularly that of Chambers—was also a focus for his team.

UConn’s strategy proved successful, as Chambers was held to three points just three days after putting up 21 at Boston College.

—Staff writer Catherine E. Coppinger can be reached at ccoppinger@college.harvard.edu.