CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Sophomore forward
Chisom Okpara scored a game-high 20 points, and first-year guard
Malik Mack tallied 18 points, seven rebounds, and a game-high five assists, but Harvard University men's basketball's second-half rally came up just short as the Crimson fell to Brown University, 74-72, on Monday afternoon at Lavietes Pavilion on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Playing in its first Ivy League home game of the year, the Crimson (9-6, 0-2 Ivy) trimmed a 19-point first-half deficit (41-22) and 17-point halftime margin (41-24) down to one possession on three occasions inside the final 1:19, including to two points at 74-72 with just over two seconds left, before the visiting Bears (5-12, 1-1 Ivy) held on for the win.
Okpara scored 20 or more points for the sixth time this season, hitting 8-of-15 field goals while Mack tallied 18 points, seven rebounds, a game-high five assists, and four steals in his second game back following an illness. First-year forward
Thomas Batties II joined the duo in double figures, posting 15 points, four rebounds, and three steals.
Harvard Highlights
- Sophomore forward Chisom Okpara scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-15 field goals. He reached the 20-point plateau for the sixth time this season and finished in double figures for the 13th time.
- First-year guard Malik Mack tallied 18 points, seven rebounds, a game-high five assists, and four steals, while making 7-of-16 field goals. He scored in double figures for the 11th time this year. In the second half against the Bears, he notched 13 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
- First-year forward Thomas Batties II posted 15 points, four rebounds, and three steals, while connecting on 5-of-8 field goals, 1-of-2 3-pointers, and 4-of-5 free throws. He scored in double figures for the fifth time this year.
- Junior guard Louis Lesmond added eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.
- In the second half, Harvard outscored Brown, 48-33. The Crimson held advantages in points off turnovers (14-5), points in the paint (24-16), second-chance points (12-6), and fastbreak points (12-7) during the second stanza. In the final 20 minutes, the hosts forced the visitors into 11 turnovers.
Gallery: (1-15-2024) Men's Basketball vs. Brown
How It Happened
- Harvard scored the game's first seven points and remained ahead 11-7 at the 12:54 mark of the first half as Okpara and Batties II combined to net the Crimson's first seven points.
- After Brown took a 16-11 lead with a 9-0 run, Harvard remained with 21-16 following a layup from Mack with 8:41 left in the first half. The Bears moved their lead to 31-17 with a 10-1 stretch and took their largest lead at 19 points at 41-22 with 1:54 to go until the break. The visitors remained ahead 41-24 at halftime.
- Opening the second half, Harvard trimmed the margin to 45-36 with a 12-4 run to start the second half. The Bears regained a double-digit lead and remained ahead at 62-46 with 8:05 left.
- Harvard cut the deficit back to 10 points at 66-56 following a 3-pointer from Lesmond and pulled within eight points at 68-60 with 4:02 left.
- Trailing 70-60 with 3:42 to play, the Crimson closed the game on a 12-4 run, pulling within one possession on three occasions inside of the final 1:19 – 70-67, 72-69, and 74-72. A 3-pointer from Batties II sparked a 7-0 spurt that brought Harvard within 70-67 with 1:19 to go, and three free throws from Lesmond with just over two seconds left whittled the margin to 72-70.
Postgame Quotes
- "We played poorly in the first half, which obviously put us in the hole that we were in. We gave great effort to try to come back and fight, but when you are down 19, it is a long road." – Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball
- "Give them credit. They executed and did what they were supposed to do, but I thought we played very poorly in the first half. That was the message to our guys. You have to play 40 minutes of sound basketball." – Coach Amaker
Next Up
Harvard plays at the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 6:00 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN+) in a nationally televised contest.
