Pictured: Keith Wright had 16 points and three blocks in
Harvard's 92-71 victory at Seattle on Saturday (Steve
Slade).
SEATTLE, Wash. - Harvard set a program record
for nonconference victories in a season Saturday evening as the
Crimson defeated Seattle University, 92-71, at Key Arena.
The Crimson improves to 10-3 on the season, eclipsing its
nonleague wins record set during the 1957-58 season. Seattle sees
its record dip to 4-2 at home this year and 6-9 overall.
The Crimson received little respect in its first visit to
Washington despite an RPI rating of 21st nationally (on
Friday). Seth Kolloen of the Seattle Sun Times had this to say in a
season preview of Seattle basketball, taking a jab at Harvard in
the process: "(Seattle's Charles) Garcia ... will be the most
talented player on the floor in many of SU's games this year
(especially against Harvard)..."
Harvard players responded in force as four players logged double
figures in the first half alone - including the duo charged with
guarding the SU star. Kyle Casey had his second straight
career-high outing with 19 points (7-10 FG) while Keith Wright had
16 points (8- 13 FG) and three blocks.
Jeremy Lin (8-9 FG) made his first five shots of the game and
played through foul trouble to finish with 21 points and four
steals in 30 minutes while Christian Webster had 10 points and five
assists in the first half alone, finishing with 12 points and three
steals.
Harvard shot nearly 59 percent for the game and was 20-of-23 at
the free throw line.
Harvard led by 26 in the first half and 21 at the break but a
15-0 Seattle run spanning the halves got the Redhawks within 52-41
early in the second half before Harvard scored seven straight.
Seattle never got within double figures after the opening minutes
of the game.
Garcia led Seattle with 19 points but was harassed all game,
shooting 2-for-7 to start and finishing at 6-for-16 for 19 points.
In the first half, Harvard shot near 75 percent for the first 17
minutes of the half before settling for a 21-34 mark (.618) while
holding SU to a 31 percent mark.
Harvard made six of its first eight in a fast-paced game
including a fastbreak triple from Webster to grab a 16-7 lead at
the first media break. By the second timeout, Harvard was 10-of-12
from the floor en route to a 31-16 lead with 10:00 left. A long
triple from Lin made it 34-18 with 8:51 left.
Harvard stayed hot thanks to crisp ball movement, and three easy
layups gave Harvard a 42-20 lead with 6:30 to go as the Crimson was
shooting 17-of-23 (.739). A follow-up dunk from Casey on a
fastbreak made it a 46-20 lead and a step-back jumper from Webster
made it 52-26 before SU scored the last five points of the half.
Harvard did find itself in some foul trouble at the break with
five players saddled with two fouls each but Seattle did not
capitalize to the fullest with just a 9-for-18 mark from the line
in the opening 20.
Harvard continued to get whistled for fouls in the second half
but SU again could not capitalize, finishing 16-for-35 at the line
on 24 Harvard fouls.
Brandyn Curry became the fourth different Harvard player to
record at least six assists in a game this season with a
career-high.
The Crimson returns to action Monday night with a 10:30 p.m.
(EST) game at Santa Clara University. As of Saturday afternoon,
there were fewer than 300 tickets available for purchase.
