While sophomore wrestler Todd Preston’s double sudden death overtime victory at the EIWA Championships all but guaranteed him Athlete of the Week honors, here were some other baller performances (read: they all played really good basketball) by Crimson athletes this past weekend.
Steve Moundou-Missi, Men’s Basketball
Moundou-Missi scored the first two points of the game for Harvard in its NCAA tournament berth-clinching win over Yale, 70-58. The junior forward added 14 more along the way to finish with 16 points and six boards. Moundou-Missi put up even better numbers in Saturday’s overtime win over Brown, finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds to earn his second double-double on the season.
Laurent Rivard, Men’s Basketball
Rivard, as team captains are wont to do, played like a confident upperclassman and hit clutch buckets in key moments for Harvard in its two victories this weekend. Rivard was only one of five from three on the night as he rose up from beyond the arc with less than three minutes to go in Friday’s game against the Bulldogs. Yale had slowly clawed its way back to cut the margin to single digits on its previous possession, but Rivard drilled the three to effectively end any chance of a Bulldog comeback.
By Saturday night’s game, the sharpshooting senior had found his touch, going 4-8 from three on the game. Rivard’s last three was once again his biggest as the co-captain gave the Crimson a five-point edge with under a minute to go in overtime. After the game, Rivard credited teammate and fellow AOTW runner-up Moundou-Missi for freeing him up with a great screen on the play. The three, Rivard’s last of his regular season collegiate career, moved him into second-place in the Ivy League for all-time made three pointers.
Temi Fagbenle, Women’s Basketball
In an interview after Friday’s win over Yale, Fagbenle said multiple times what an honor it was to play for her coach, Kathy Delaney-Smith, who now sits alone atop the Ivy League Basketball all-time wins list. The biggest reason why Delaney-Smith earned that monumental win? Fagbenle’s play on the court Friday night. The junior forward finished with 23 points and 12 boards to lead the Crimson against the Bulldogs. Fagbenle added to two blocks to go along with her double-double and put in three huge baskets down the stretch to secure the victory.
The British Olympian played only 19 minutes on Saturday with senior Elise Gordon getting big minutes in the final game of her Crimson career. The junior put in eight points on just six shots to go along with four rebounds and three assists for an efficient night.
