Harvard and Yale sat in the No. 1 and 2 positions in the Ivy standings: a Crimson win would clinch a league championship and an NCAA berth, while a Harvard loss would keep the Bulldogs in contention.

The game did not disappoint.

The visiting team jumped out to an early lead in the first half, punctuated by consecutive threes from Curry following “Cheater” chants from the Eli fans.  The Crimson led its rivals by 13 at intermission, holding Yale to only 23 points in the first 20 minutes.

But a dominant performance from Sears, who scored 28 of his team’s 58 points, pushed the Elis back into the contest. The sophomore went five-of-five from the field in the second half, collecting 15 points and nine rebounds in the game’s final period in an attempt to keep his squad’s title hopes alive.

Back-to-back scores from Sears—an and-one and a rim-shaking dunk—sliced the Crimson’s lead to only nine with 5:33 left in the game. Plenty of time remained for a Yale comeback.

Two Crimson treys, however, would be enough to put the Bulldogs back on their heels. First up was a three from Chambers, who ran a quick give-and-go with Casey, culminating in a 20-foot three-pointer from the top of the circle.

Then, with 2:18 remaining, a Rivard swish from the corner not only punched the game wide open for Harvard, but also punched the squad a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.