BRONX, N.Y. – Junior guard
Sam Silverstein scored a team-high 17 points, but Harvard University men's basketball's second-half rally fell just short in a 68-60 setback to Fordham University on Sunday afternoon at Rose Hill Gym.
Facing a deficit as large as 13 points in the second half, the Crimson (5-2) pulled within two points on three occasions inside of the final 5:18 before the host Rams (6-1) held on for the win. First-year forward
Chisom Okpara (11 points) and senior guard
Idan Tretout (10 points) joined Silverstein in double figures as the Crimson played in the second game of a stretch of five contests in 10 days, including its second straight against an opponent from the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Harvard Highlights
- Junior guard Sam Silverstein totaled a team and career-high 17 points alongside five rebounds and three assists. He scored in double figures for the fifth time this season and led the team in scoring for the first time this year.
- First-year forward Chisom Okpara posted 11 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. He went over double figures for the third time this season. Okpara hit a 3-pointer with 5:18 left to bring the Crimson within 54-52.
- Senior guard Idan Tretout tallied 10 points, a career-high six rebounds, and three assists. He scored in double figures for the second time this year.
- Junior forward Justice Ajogbor scored a career-high eight points, making 4-of-4 free throws.
- Senior guard/forward Chris Ledlum finished with seven points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks.
- Sophomore guard Evan Nelson added five points, four rebounds, and two assists while senior guard Luka Sakota grabbed five rebounds.
- Harvard held Fordham to 35.0 percent shooting (21-of-60) for the game.
- The Crimson held advantages in points in the paint (34-22), rebounds (42-37), and bench points (21-4).
Gallery: (11-27-2022) Men's Basketball at Fordham
How It Happened
- Neither team held a lead larger than one in the first half until Harvard used a 6-0 spurt to pull ahead 21-17 with 5:14 remaining in the frame. Ajogbor and Silverstein netted eight and seven points respectively during that opening stretch.
- The Rams then closed the half on a 14-3 run, bringing a 31-24 advantage into the intermission.
- After Fordham extended its margin to 40-28 at the 16:11 mark of the second half and to 46-33 with 14:23 left, Harvard began its run to cut into the deficit.
- A 3-pointer from Silverstein and layup from Nelson brought the visitors within single digits at 46-38 with 11:33 to go.
- Following a Fordham 3-pointer that pushed the margin to 51-40 with 9:29 on the click, the Crimson rattled off a 12-3 run to trim the deficit to 54-52with 5:18 to play. A 3-point play from Ledlum helped catalyze the run before a 3-pointer from Okpara capped the streak.
- Harvard again pulled within two points at 56-54 following two free throws from Tretout with 3:39 left and at 58-56 off a basket from Silverstein with 1:52 to go, but the Rams used back-to-back baskets to move the margin back to two possessions and made 6-of-6 free throws in the final 39 seconds.
Next Up
Harvard plays at Holy Cross on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) before hosting back-to-back home games against Massachusetts on Dec. 2 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) and Tufts on Dec. 4 at 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+). Tickets for Crimson home games are available at
tickets.gocrimson.com.
