CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Senior guard/forward
Chris Ledlum posted a double-double on game highs in points (25) and rebounds (10), but Harvard University men's basketball dropped a narrow 71-68 decision to the University of Massachusetts at a sold out Lavietes Pavilion on Friday night.
Playing in front of a capacity crowd of 1,636 fans, the Crimson (6-3) held a lead for greater than 30 minutes in the game and pulled back ahead 67-66 with 1:26 to play before the visiting Minutemen (6-1) netted a 3-pointer with 1:08 left to take a 69-67 edge that they would not relent inside of the final minute.
Ledlum scored over 20 points for the fourth time in nine games this season while junior forward
Justice Ajogbor netted 14 points for his first collegiate game in double figures.
Harvard Highlights
- Senior guard/forward Chris Ledlum posted a double-double on game highs in points (25) and rebounds (10) alongside two assists and two blocks. He connected on 7-of-13 field goals, 2-of-4 3-pointers, and 9-of-11 free throws. He scored over 20 points for the fourth time this year, while playing all but 45 seconds in the contest. Ledlum notched his second double-double of the year and the 10th of his career.
- Junior forward Justice Ajogbor netted a career-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 4-of-6 free throws. He tied his career high with six rebounds and blocked two shots. Ajogbor scored in double figures for the first time in his collegiate career, while playing a career-high 26 minutes.
- First-year forward Chisom Okpara netted nine points on 4-of-4 field goals in 12 minutes.
- Senior guard Luka Sakota grabbed a career-best eight rebounds and added five points while sophomore guard Evan Nelson distributed a game-best five assists with seven points.
- Harvard led in rebounds (36-30) and points in the paint (38-30). The Crimson led for 30:54 in the contest while the Minutemen held a lead for 3:22.
Gallery: (12-2-2022) Men's Basketball vs. Massachusetts
How It Happened
- After Harvard opened the game with a 10-6 lead, UMass used a 7-0 run to pull ahead 13-10 with 12:10 left in the first half.
- The Crimson then used a 14-0 burst to pull ahead 24-13 with 7:08 remaining in the opening half. Okpara stared the run with an old-fashioned 3-point play before Ledlum hit a 3-pointer and Sakota netted four points.
- After the Minutemen pulled within 28-22, Harvard scored six of the half's final nine points with baskets from senior Idan Tretout, Okpara, and Ajogbor to bring a 34-25 lead into halftime.
- In the second half, Massachusetts whittled the margin to 46-44 with 12:59 to play despite 3-pointers from Nelson and Ledlum.
- Harvard pushed its advantage up to 54-46 with 10:09 to go following buckets from sophomore Tyler Simon and Okpara to close an 8-2 streak. UMass then chipped the lead back to 57-55 with 7:02 left.
- The visitors tied the score at 63-63 with 3:20 remaining and took a 65-63 edge with 2:53 on the clock – their first lead since 13-12 at the 11:48 mark of the first half.
- A pair of free throws from junior Sam Silverstein knotted the score at 65-65 with 2:48 to play, and two free throws from Ledlum gave Harvard back a 67-66 advantage with 1:23 to play before UMass' Tafara Gapare hit a 3-pointer with 1:08 left giving the Minutemen a 69-67 lead.
- A free throw from Sakota trimmed the margin to 69-68 with 44 seconds left, but UMass was able to stop the Crimson on a 3-point attempt and ensuing possession in the frontcourt inside of the final five seconds.
Postgame Quotes
- "They're a tough team. We've had some really exciting games against them. I thought this one tonight again was a really hard-fought, highly competitive, and intense game. I give them a lot of credit for bouncing back after we put them in a hole in the first half." – Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball
- "Coach Martin is an outstanding coach. Those kids played really hard. I thought it was a great atmosphere of course. I'm just really disappointed that we came up a little short. Our kids were up for the battle and played that way. We just didn't have enough there to close it." – Coach Amaker
- "This has become the best college basketball game in the state. I do believe it has that kind of rivalry. We've had these kind of games against the flagship state institution. We've had some really tough games against them and some battles that have gone down to the wire. There have been some exciting games that we've had an opportunity to play against them." – Coach Amaker
Next Up
Harvard hosts Tufts on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+) at Lavietes Pavilion in its last game before the finals break. Tickets for Crimson home games are available at
tickets.gocrimson.com.
