Box Score Pictured: Laurent Rivard had a game-high 21 points in just
20 minutes minutes as Harvard raced past Fordham on Wednesday
night.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard men's
basketball team made 15 three-pointers en route to an 80-57 victory
over Fordham in a non-conference matchup Wednesday evening at
Lavietes Pavilion. The 15 treys on only 27 shots (56 percent) mark
the most for the Crimson since Harvard made 17-of-42 attempts
against Rice Dec. 10, 2002.
The win improves Harvard's record to 5-1 on the season, while
the Rams drop to 2-4.
Laurent
Rivard posted the best game of his rookie season, shooting
5-of-8 from three-point land and 6-of-11 overall for 21 points in
just 20 minutes. Christian
Webster added 18 points and four rebounds, while Kyle Casey hit
three triples while collecting six rebounds and scoring 13 in his
strongest performance of the year in 17 minutes. Brandyn Curry
handed out nine assists, while Oliver McNally had
seven dimes.
In what has become a common occurrence, Keith Wright carried
Harvard's offense early, as he netted the team's first six points
on two layups and a dunk, putting the Crimson up 6-4 after the
first three minutes. Following a 6-0 run by the Rams to give them a
10-6 advantage, McNally and Andrew Van Nest
drained back-to-back threes to put Harvard back on top, 12-10, at
the first media timeout. Wright finished the game with 10
points in the balanced attack.
Casey also got into a groove offensively in the first half, as he
threw down a dunk and then buried a trey from the top of the key to
put Harvard up 17-15 just before the second media timeout with
11:52 to play in the first half. The Crimson continued to attack
the basket midway through the frame, going on a 10-0 run to pull
ahead, 24-15, with nine minutes to play. McNally handed out two of
his six assists in the half during the scoring run, which was
capped by a layup from under the right side of the basket by
Wright.
The Crimson, which led by as much as 16 in the half, shot 45
percent from the floor and was 6-of-13 from three-point land (46
percent) to take a 42-29 lead into the intermission. Harvard also
made all six of its free throws in the period and was led
offensively by Casey, who had 10 points at the break. The Crimson
capitalized on Fordham turnovers in the half, scoring 13 points on
miscues by the Rams in the first 20 periods.
Fordham opened up the second half with consecutive layups by
Chris Gaston and Kervin Bristol to help the Rams pull within eight,
46-38, with 17:02 to play. The Crimson, though, used long-distance
shots to keep Fordham at bay, as Webster drained a trey from beyond
the arc to give Harvard a 14-point edge with 13:55 remaining.
Harvard continued to work the ball from deep, as Rivard hit two
threes and Casey and Van Nest made a trey apiece, as the Crimson
connected on four consecutive triples in grabbing a 24-point
advantage, 66-42. Over that time span, Harvard went on a 24-6 run
to put the game away.
In its best all-around performance of the season, the Crimson
committed only nine turnovers in the game and was an impressive
9-o-11 (82 percent) from the line, while Harvard had 21 assists on
28 field goals.
Gaston (14 points and 10 rebounds) and Butler (11 points) paced
Fordham's offense.
Up next, Harvard will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face Michigan
Saturday, Dec. 4 at 1 p.m.