But the Lions made one last run, as Columbia’s Van Green and Alex Rosenberg knocked down two three-pointers. Rosenberg made it a two-point game moments later, finishing an and-one layup on Casey.

“I think we did well defensively, but they made a lot of tough shots, and we have to give credit to them,” Rivard said.

Wright answered on the other end, finishing a layup off a pass from Curry, and the Crimson’s defense took over from there. Harvard forced a turnover and a missed shot on the Lions’ next two trips up the floor, and co-captain Oliver McNally extended the Crimson’s lead to six with 1:11 to play off a pair of free throws.

Rivard, Curry, and McNally went five for six from the line in the game’s final minute, and Harvard came away with the five-point win, its closest conference matchup of the season thus far.

In the early going, it was Rivard and Curry who helped the Crimson build an early seven-point lead, as Harvard went up 16-9 off a Curry layup with 13:34 to go.

But with the Crimson’s second unit in the game, Harvard’s offense stalled, failing to score over the next 4:38 of play. The Lions capitalized, going on a 7-0 run capped off by a Chris Crockett triple to knot the score at 16.

Wright answered, putting back a Kyle Casey miss and then swatting a Staab layup attempt on the other end. The Crimson recovered the ball, and Wright extended Harvard’s lead to four, scoring a layup on the left block.

Rivard extended the Crimson’s lead to seven moments later—sticking a triple off a Curry drive-and-kick—but the Lions bounced back once again, pulling within three by the end of the frame off a Staab tip in.

—Staff writer Martin Kessler can be reached at martin.kessler@college.harvard.edu.