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Louis Lesmond
Greg Sabin
70
Winner Harvard HU 10-6,1-2 Ivy League
61
Penn Penn 9-9,1-2 Ivy League
Winner
Harvard HU
10-6,1-2 Ivy League
70
Final
61
Penn Penn
9-9,1-2 Ivy League
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Harvard HU 46 24 70
Penn Penn 26 35 61

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Defeats Penn, 70-61, Picks Up Road Ivy League Win

PHILADELPHIA – Sophomore forward Chisom Okpara scored a game-high 18 points, junior guard Louis Lesmond netted a career-best 17 points, and first-year guard Malik Mack tallied 16 points and a game-high five assists as Harvard University men's basketball defeated the University of Pennsylvania, 70-61, on Saturday night at The Palestra.
 
Playing in front of a national television audience on ESPNU, the Crimson (10-6, 1-2 Ivy) held a lead as large as 21 points in the first half, led 46-26 at halftime, and held off a second-half rally from the Quakers (9-9, 1-2 Ivy) to earn the road conference win.
 
Okpara connected on 7-of-15 field goals, 2-of-5 3-pointers, and 2-of-3 free throws as part of his 18-point effort and led the Crimson in scoring for the 10th time this season. Lesmond matched his career high with five made 3-pointers, sinking 5-of-11 treys as part of his 17 points. Mack totaled 16 points, a game-best five assists, and four rebounds to round out Harvard's double-figure scorers. 

Harvard Highlights

  • Sophomore forward Chisom Okpara scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-15 field goals, 2-of-5 3-pointers, and 2-of-3 free throws, while adding four rebounds and two assists. He scored in double figures for the 14th time in 15 games played this season. Okpara paced the Crimson in scoring for the 10th time in 2023-24.
  • Junior guard Louis Lesmond netted a career-best 17 points and tied his career high with five made 3-pointers, knocking down 5-of-11 shots from 3-point distance. He finished in double figures for the eighth time this year and 15th time in his career.
  • First-year guard Malik Mack totaled 16 points, a game-high five assists, four rebounds, and two steals. He scored in double figures for the 12th time in 13 games played this year.
  • Sophomore guard Chandler Piggé added seven points and a team-high seven rebounds, first-year forward Thomas Batties II chipped in six points and five boards, junior guard Denham Wojcik distributed three assists, and senior forward Justice Ajogbor blocked a game-high two shots.
  • Harvard hit 11-of-27 3-pointers in the game, tying a season high in 3-pointers made and connecting on double-figure triples for the fifth time this year. 
Gallery: (1-20-2024) Men's Basketball at Penn
 

How It Happened

  • Harvard held an early 15-9 lead at the 16:04 mark of the first half as Lesmond scored 11 points in the opening four minutes, hitting a trio of 3-pointers.
  • Remaining ahead 21-16 with 12:42 left in the first half, the Crimson used a 13-4 run to pull ahead 34-20 with 6:21 to go in the half. Lesmond started the run with a 3-pointer before Mack and Okpara each scored five consecutive points.
  • Harvard closed the first half on a 12-3 run, hitting four 3-pointer inside the final 5:34 of the half to take a 46-26 lead into the locker room. The Crimson held a lead as large as 21 points at 46-25 in the first half.
  • After the Quakers scored the first nine points of the second half, a jumper from Mack stopped the run, keeping the visitors up 48-35 with 17:36 to play. Piggé and Lesmond each connected on 3-pointers to keep the margin at 56-42 with 9:21 remaining.
  • The hosts came within single digits for the first time in the second half at 56-47 at the 8:43 mark and later used an 8-0 run to trim the margin to four at 59-55 with 5:18 to go.
  • A layup from Piggé stopped the spurt and made the score 61-55 with 4:52 left, and a bucket from Mack kept the score at 63-57 with 2:05 to play.
  • Inside of the final minute, Wojcik hit a pair of free throws to make it 65-57, and Okpara threw down a dunk to push the score to 67-60 to help seal the win. 

Postgame Quotes

  • "We're proud of our team. We felt like we needed to take a step forward on the defensive end, and I think we did that. We really targeted trying to limit their 3-point shooting. They are a very good 3-point shooting team. They are a very tough team, and we felt like we were going to need to match that on the backboard, which we did for the most part." – Assistant coach Mike Sotsky
  • "We certainly need to improve, particularly against pressure down the stretch. The game got a little more interesting – which is a credit to them too – but we're really proud of the fight that our guys brought down here and excited to pick up the win." – Coach Sotsky 

Next Up

Harvard hosts Yale University on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+) at Lavietes Pavilion.

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