HOUSTON, Texas – Sophomore guard
Chandler Piggé scored a game and career-high 23 points, and first-year guard
Malik Mack netted a career-high 20 points as Harvard University men's basketball beat Rice University, 89-76, on Friday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.
In its first road game of the 2023-24 season, the Crimson (2-0) built a lead as large as 18 points in the first half, held a 43-33 edge at halftime, and withstood a second half rally from the Owls (1-1), responding with an 18-6 run after the hosts took a 62-60 lead with 8:34 left.
Piggé scored in double figures for the first time in his collegiate career, hitting 8-of-12 field goals and 6-of-6 free throws while Mack reached the 20-point plateau for the first time and distributed a game-high eight assists. Sophomore forward
Chisom Okpara (17 points) and senior center
Justice Ajogbor (12 points) joined the duo in double figures.
Harvard Highlights
- Sophomore guard Chandler Piggé scored a game and career-high 23 points on 8-of-12 field goals and 6-of-6 free throws alongside five rebounds and two assists. He scored in double figures for the first time in his collegiate career.
- First-year guard Malik Mack tallied a career-high 20 points, a game and career-best eight assists, a team-high three steals, and three rebounds. He scored in double figures for the second straight game to open his career.
- Sophomore forward Chisom Okpara posted 17 points, seven rebounds, and two steals in his season debut. He scored in double figures for the 10th time in his collegiate career.
- Senior center Justice Ajogbor scored 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting with six rebounds. He scored in double figures for the second time this year and seventh time in his career.
- Junior guard Louis Lesmond netted nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point distance. He hit a trio of 3-pointers for the second straight game.
- The Crimson shot 53.3 percent from the field (32-of-60), making 16 field goals in each half.
How It Happened
- Harvard opened the game with a 15-7 lead at the 15:46 mark of the first half as Piggé, Lesmond, and Mack all hit 3-pointers during the opening stretch before Ajogbor capped the run with a dunk.
- Still leading 20-13, the Crimson used a 13-4 run to move ahead 33-17 with 8:07 to go in the first half. Lesmond, Mack, and Okpara all hit 3-pointers during the burst.
- Harvard pushed its lead to as large as 18 points at 40-22 with 4:07 left until the break and remained ahead 43-33 at halftime following a 3-point play from Piggé.
- The Crimson stayed up 58-46 with 11:56 to play, including six points from Ajogbor, before the Owls used a 16-2 run to move ahead 62-60 with 8:50 remaining.
- Harvard responded with back-to-back buckets from Okpara preceding a 3-point play from Piggé that lifted Harvard back to a 69-64 edge with 6:52 on the clock. A 7-0 burst later pushed the margin to 78-68 with 3:23 remaining.
- Harvard hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 1:47 to seal the win.
Gallery: (11-10-2023) Men's Basketball at Rice
Postgame Quotes
"The turnaround for us was really trusting ourselves. This is a game of runs. Rice came out and played strong at the end of the half and a quick surge at the beginning of the second half. We just want to trust our work and what we do and what we execute." –
Chandler Piggé
Next Up
Harvard hosts Northeastern on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) before playing back-to-back games at Massachusetts on Nov. 17 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+/NESN+) and at Boston College on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+/ACCNX).
