CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard men's basketball defeated Colgate, 89-84, in overtime at Lavietes Pavilion after Luka Sakota hit a near half-court three-pointer at the end of regulation to tie the game. Sakota finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and three assists in 41 minutes as the Crimson improved to 4-2 on the season.  

Harvard got out of the gates on a slow note, scoring just two points in the first four minutes. The situation did not change as the game carried on as the Crimson trailed by large margins (23-8 and 31-15) at different points in the half. As the first 20 minutes was nearing an end, Harvard began to gain traction offensively with the help of Sakota and Spencer Freedman. Both scored five points to boost Harvard to a 12-3 run to end the half, which they went in trailing, 37-30. 

Colgate would come out and hit their first four shots of the second half, extending the lead to 46-32 with 18 minutes remaining. The Crimson quickly got back into the game with a 7-0 run of its own behind a Chris Ledlum three-pointer and two buckets from Noah Kirkwood. Ledlum trimmed his team's deficit to five with 13:23 left in the frame, but the Raiders hit right back with a trey on the next possession. Louis Lesmond, meanwhile, on two occasions got Harvard to within five points only to have the visitors connect on the other end to maintain their lead. The tide began to turn when Ledlum canned a three with Kirkwood following suit, cutting the Colgate lead to 58-55. Sam Thomson, however, halted the run with a dunk, but Ledlum drained another three with 8:46 to go, getting Harvard to within two points at 60-58. 

The teams would trade buckets down the stretch, with Kirkwood making it a two-point game once again with a layup off a feed from Freedman with 2:51 remaining. Colgate would hit its next shot to go back up four, where the score would remain until Lesmond drained his third triple of the contest with 15 seconds remaining to make it a 74-73 Colgate lead. The Raiders would knock down two free throws, setting up yet another opportunity down three at the end of regulation for the Crimson. Ledlum's three-point attempt was off the mark, but the ball was tipped out to Sakota at near mid-court, where the junior hit another miraculous shot to force overtime.  

Sakota carried the momentum into the overtime period, scoring the first five points behind another triple and two free throws. Lesmond and Freedman would trade buckets with Colgate before the Raiders knocked down a three with 1:19 remaining to cut the Crimson lead to 85-84. Colgate would get the ball back after a Harvard miss, only for Samuel Silverstein to block the ensuing layup attempt to give Harvard the ball back with 40 seconds left. Kirkwood would drain the shot clock all the way down before hitting a mid-range jumper to increase the lead to three. The Crimson would foul instead of allowing a three-point attempt and was rewarded when Colgate missed the front end of the one-and-one. Silverstein would bury both free throws to ice the game, giving the Crimson a comeback, 89-84 victory.

Harvard Highlights

• The Crimson rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to win, marking the third-largest comeback of the Tommy Amaker era.
• Five players scored in double figures, with Luka Sakota and Noah Kirkwood leading the way with 17 points apiece.
• Chris Ledlum produced 16 points and 12 rebounds to log his second double-double of the season.
• Spencer Freedman scored a career-high 12 points to go with four assists and two steals. His two thefts tied a personal best.
• Louis Lesmond had a career-high 15 points on a career-best three treys.

Game Notes

• Harvard ended its losing streak at one and avoided its first two-game non-conference losing skid since Nov. 29 and Dec. 1, 2019.
• The Crimson is 14-2 in its last 16 games immediately following a loss.
• Harvard improved to 14-1 at home over its last two seasons.

What's Next?
Harvard plays host to Northeastern on Saturday, with the game slated for 5 p.m. ET. The contest will air on NESN and ESPN+.