PHILADELPHIA—Heading into its key Ivy matchup Saturday night against Penn, the Harvard men’s basketball team was in possession of the largest winning streak at the Palestra of any Ivy team.

But for the first time in four years, the Quakers (8-20, 5-6 Ivy) emerged from their home contest against the Crimson (17-9, 9-3) on top, 75-72, narrowly avoiding being swept on the weekend at home and handing Harvard its second loss in as many days.

“Congratulate Penn on a terrific effort,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “The opening of the game and their intensity and defensive pressure was terrific, and I’m sure [Quakers’ coach Jerome Allen] is really excited and proud of his kids.”

The last time the Crimson dropped both of its games at the Killer P’s was during the 2007-08 campaign—a season in which Harvard tallied just three wins in league play.

But though the contest closed out an especially tough weekend for the Crimson—Harvard lost to Princeton by a slim margin Friday night—it was not the first time in recent memory that Penn spoiled a Crimson streak. In the two teams’ contest at Lavietes Pavilion last season, Penn walked away with a one-point victory, ending what was then the second-longest home winning streak in the country (27 games).

THREES COMPANY

After going 0 of 8 from deep against Princeton, the Crimson—a team that averaged a .401 three-point percentage entering the weekend—appeared to be destined for another ineffective night from beyond the arc.

“Our numbers have not been what we need them to be to win the last few games,” Amaker said.

In the first half of its contest against the Quakers, Harvard made just two of its 10 attempts from three, as co-captain Christian Webster knocked down a pair of shots with 15:18 and 9:44 remaining in the half, respectively.

But in the second frame, clutch three-pointers were largely responsible for keeping the Crimson in the game. Co-captain Laurent Rivard, who was kept off the scoreboard in the first despite attempting four shots from deep, made four three-pointers in the final 9:39, including a bomb from NBA range that narrowed the score to four with 1:38 left to play.

Webster added three more treys in the second half on the way to a 5-for-10 effort, as the co-captains combined for 30 points on the night.

Chambers also contributed a make from deep in the waning minutes of the contest, as the Crimson shot an impressive 72.7 percent from long range while also contributing a 13-for-24 (54.2 percent) effort from the field in the period.

But despite increased shooting prowess in the latter frame of Saturday evening’s contest, Webster’s final attempt from three—a rushed shot from the corner in the final seconds of play that would have sent the game into overtime—missed the basket entirely, and the Crimson ended up suffering its second defeat of the weekend.

NOBODY FRESH-ER

While Harvard’s eldest players—Webster and Rivard—led a late offensive surge that nearly evened the contest, consistent play from two Penn freshman helped secure a win for the home team.