CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard men's basketball welcomed spectators back to Lavietes Pavilion on Friday night, falling to Penn by a score of 78-74. The Crimson narrowly missed completing another double-digit second half comeback, falling to 10-7 overall (2-3 Ivy League), while Penn moved to 8-12 (5-2 Ivy League).

Harvard got out to a quick start thanks to five points from Luka Sakota and four from Mason Forbes, who was making his first start of the season in his second appearance. The duo helped the Crimson take a 12-2 lead, which later turned into a 24-12 advantage with Noah Kirkwood responsible for nine of Harvard's 24.

Penn fought its way back into the game by outscoring the Crimson, 19-8, to get within one point at 32-31, but Louis Lesmond canned a trey to push Harvard out in front by four. The Quakers answered with a three of their own, only to have Kirkwood splash a step-back jumper to keep Penn at bay with 3:59 left in the period. Harvard, however, went cold from the field and did not score until Kirkwood connected on one free throw with 20.1 seconds to go. Penn eventually went into the half ahead, 45-38.

Harvard erased its deficit in methodical fashion, and it took the senior pairing of Kale Catchings and Kirkwood to get the Crimson back into the game. Catchings knocked down two three-pointers en route to eight points and Kirkwood added two buckets to get Harvard to within three. Then as the game approached the under-12 media timeout, first-year Evan Nelson converted a layup and was fouled. Nelson made the ensuing free throw coming out of the break to level the score at 53 with 11:39 to play.

From that point forward, the teams matched each other basket-for-basket with the Quakers holding a 62-61 lead with 6:14 left in regulation. Unfortunately for the Crimson, it went through an offensive drought that lasted nearly four-and-a-half minutes. By the time Kirkwood found the bottom of the net with 1:55 to go, Harvard was on the short end of a 70-63 score. After Penn knocked down two free throws, the Crimson scored the game's next five points, bringing it to within four points at 72-68 (27.7 seconds).

The final moments were tension-filled with a packed Lavietes Pavilion and a two-possession game. Penn missed the front end of a bonus situation, giving Harvard a chance on the opposite side. Kirkwood was then fouled, but missed the first of two free throws, making the second, to make it a 72-69 score. As the game went the other way, the Quakers swished two additional from the charity stripe only to have Sakota cash in a three-pointer with 10.9 seconds.

With Penn nursing a two-point lead, it made two more free throws to push ahead, 76-72. On the inbounds play, however, the Quakers fouled Sakota, sending him to the line where he made both attempts. Penn went on to convert two more free throws after being fouled with 4.3 seconds left, to secure the 78-74 victory.

Harvard Highlights

• Noah Kirkwood reached the 20-point plateau for the third time in the last four games, finishing with 27. The senior led the team in rebounding for the sixth time this season and for the fourth time in the last five outings, securing eight boards.
• Kale Catchings scored at least 10 points for the seventh time this season. The senior ended the night with 10 to go along with four rebounds.
• Luka Sakota, who cashed in on three triples and was 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, scored 19 points, recording his 10th double-digit scoring performance.
• The Crimson did not allow a three-pointer in the second half, with the Quakers missing on all 11 of their attempts from long distance.

What's Next?
Harvard returns to the hardwood on Friday, Feb. 4, when it plays at Brown. The 7 p.m. ET game will air on ESPN+.