CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard used a furious rally midway through the second half and traded leads with Princeton down the stretch, but the Tigers scored with six seconds left and Louis Lesmond's desperation three was off the mark as the Crimson fell, 74-73, Sunday afternoon at Lavietes Pavilion.
 
After Princeton (21-5; 11-2 Ivy League) went ahead, 51-43, with 13:40 left in the second half, Harvard, facing its largest deficit of the afternoon, came roaring back. Sparked by Noah Kirkwood's five consecutive points, the Crimson went on a 13-0 run to take a 56-51 lead.
 
From there, both teams nearly matched each other basket for basket as there were eight lead changes and three ties in the final seven-plus minutes.
 
With the Crimson (13-12; 5-8 Ivy) moving ahead, 69-67 with 3:26 left, thanks to a Mason Forbes reverse put-back, the Tigers scored five straight points to take a three-point lead. Harvard, however, stuck with the plan and found itself leading 73-72 with 18 seconds left after Evan Nelson connected on a field goal and Sakota dropped in a pair of free throws.
 
On the other end, the Crimson, which had fouls to give, gave one with nine seconds remaining, sending the Tigers to the baseline to inbound the ball. Princeton threw the ball to Tosan Evbuomwan at the top of the arc and the forward converted a layup with three seconds left. With six seconds to go and Harvard trailing by one, the Crimson got the ball to Lesmond, who attempted a 25-foot heave that was ultimately off the mark.

Harvard Highlights

• Noah Kirkwood reached double figures in scoring for the 24^th time this season. The senior, who was officially recognized pregame for joining the program's 1,000-point club, finished 12 points.
• Evan Nelson hit the double-digit scoring plateau for the third time this season, finishing with 14 points.
• Mason Forbes logged his fifth straight game with at least five rebounds, grabbing a team-high seven. He is averaging 6.8 boards in his last five outings.
• Josh Hemmings provided a lift off the bench going 2-for-2 from the field, aiding Harvard's 13-0 second-half run.
• Kale Catchings (11 points) recorded his 11^th double-figure scoring effort the campaign. He has scored at least 10 points in a career-long three straight games.
• Harvard shot 58.6 percent from the floor in the second half to rally from a 34-32 halftime deficit. 

Up Next

Harvard will play host to Dartmouth on Saturday, March 5, at 2 p.m. ET. The Senior Day contest will air live on ESPN+ with tickets available at tickets.gocrimson.com.