CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard used a smothering second-half defense and Noah Kirkwood broke open a deadlocked game to lead the Crimson to a 77-57 home victory Saturday night at Lavietes Pavilion.
 
Harvard (5-2) trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half for the second straight game but used an 8-2 run to close the frame and went into the locker room down, 41-31.
 
The Crimson carried the momentum when play resumed, outscoring Northeastern, 22-4 -- a run that covered the 8-2 spurt to end the first and its dominating second-half start -- to take a 44-43 lead. The Crimson run was briefly stopped after a Husky triple, but Kirkwood answered with a bucket of his own and the Harvard defense forced a shot-clock violation on the ensuing possession, keeping the score level at 46.
 
Kirkwood took over from there, scoring eight of Harvard's next 11 points, while assisting on a Sam Silverstein trey, which gave the Crimson a 60-49 lead with 8:35 left in regulation. From there, it was all Harvard, as it closed the game on a 17-8 run and was not threatened.
 
Harvard held Northeastern (3-4) to 5-of-25 shooting (2-8 3FG) in the second half after connecting on 15-of-34 (5-15 3FG) in the opening 20 minutes. On the other end of the floor, the Crimson shot a blistering 16-of-25 from the floor in the second half and made eight of its 12 attempts from behind the arc. For the game, Harvard shot 50.9 percent and was 12-for-25 on threes (.480) against a team that entered the game holding its opponents to 25.6 percent from distance.

Harvard Highlights

• Chris Ledlum posted his second consecutive double-double (fifth career, third this season) with a game-high 17 points and team-best 12 rebounds. He is the first Harvard player to post back-to-back double-doubles since Seth Towns (March 3, 2018 and March 10, 2018).
• Noah Kirkwood reached double figures in scoring for the seventh time this season and the 43^rd time of his career. The senior finished with 16 points to go with a game-high three steals (fifth multi-game steals of the season).
• Kale Catchings scored in double figures for the third time in four games, recording 11, while make all four of his free-throw attempts.
• Denham Wojcik shared game-high honors with three assists in just 11 minutes, matching the totals of Catchings, Kirkwood, Shaquille Walters (Northeastern) and Glen McClintock (Northeastern).

Game Notes

• Harvard rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit for the second straight game, equaling the third-largest comeback of the Tommy Amaker era.
• Harvard improved to 5-2 overall for the second straight season (2019-20, 2021-22). Prior to 2019-20, the Crimson had not accumulated at least five wins in its first seven outings since 2014-15 (6-1). The 2019-20 squad finished with a 21-8 record before COVID-19 shuttered the campaign.
• Harvard improved 39-18 all-time vs. Northeastern and logged its first series win since 2016-17.
• Harvard moved to 15-1 at home over its last two seasons (2019-20, 2021-22), including 11 straight vs. non-league foes.
• Harvard is now 45-18 against in-state opponents under Tommy Amaker and 32-10 against Boston-area schools. Over its last 10 games vs. Bay State programs, Harvard is 8-2.

What's Next?

Harvard finishes its three-game homestand on Wednesday night when it welcomes Rhode Island to Lavietes Pavilion. The contest is set for a 7 p.m. ET start and will air live on ESPN+.