When Columbia made a run of its own at the close of the contest—necessitating that Chambers right-wing jumper with just ticks remaining in the game—this early offensive cushion enabled the Lions’ storm to be weathered, with just a few anxious moments for the Crimson bench, and not the win, expended in the process. 

LO-BALL

With Harvard’s best defender in Saunders on him for much of the game, Maodo Lo showed off everything in his repertoire in the hope of overturning the odds and earning his team the upset at Lavietes. 

The junior had a game-high 22 points, pacing his squad in rebounds (six) and tying for a team high in dimes (four). 

With the bigger Saunders in his face, Lo put up six points and two assists in the 5:52 before the first media timeout of the second period, slicing into the Crimson’s double-digit advantage as he alone doubled Harvard’s scoring output in that span.

And, with just 55 seconds remaining, it was Lo that knocked down a set-play three-pointer to bring his team within three—and, on Columbia’s next possession, it was Lo that dribbled baseline, finding Coby up top for the game-tying triple. 

“He’s arguably as good as anybody in our conference,” Amaker said. “He has the total package as an offensive player, and is a very, very difficult kid to guard.”

“They cut right into it and made it a ballgame, and that’s to their credit,” Amaker added. “I just thought that as the game got tight…our guys [were] pretty tough…. We have confidence in them, and I think that’s as big as anything.”

—Staff writer Juliet Spies-Gans can be reached at juliet.spies-gans@thecrimson.com.