After playing less than 20 minutes in each of his previous 16 games, the 6’8” center was a unstoppable in the paint, putting up 20 points on eight-for-nine shooting from the field. Smith obliterated the program record for single-game blocks with 10 and grabbed nine rebounds, finishing one rebound away from a Harvard’s first-ever triple-double.

The next night against rival Princeton, Smith followed up Friday’s performance with 14 points on perfect shooting from the field and the line, adding seven rebounds and six blocks.

Smith would not match his Penn-Princeton performance again as the season wound down, but he started every game and provided a much-needed spark on the interior.

Smith emerged as the Crimson’s most consistent performer in the tournament, scoring 10 points in each game and making key defensive plays that energized Harvard down the stretch in its historic win over New Mexico in the second round.

“This was his time,” Amaker said. “This was why I recruited him, to be this kind of player. It was time for him to do that, to step forward and to make his presence felt.”

—Staff writer Hope Schwartz can be reached hschwartz@college.harvard.edu. Follow her on Twitter @HopeSchwartz16