CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Sophomore forward
Thomas Batties II scored a game-high 16 points, but Harvard Men's Basketball fell to the University of Massachusetts, 62-54, on Wednesday afternoon at Lavietes Pavilion on Thanksgiving Eve.
Playing in front of a capacity crowd, the Crimson (2-5) remained tied with the Minutemen (2-5) 24-24 at halftime and cut a 15-point second-half deficit down to four points at 55-51 with 2:23 to play before the visitors held on for the win.
Batties II scored his 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting and led Harvard in scoring for the first time this season. First-year guard
Robert Hinton notched nine points and three rebounds, junior guard
Chandler Piggé tallied eight points, a team-high six rebounds, and a game-high three steals, and senior guard
Evan Nelson distributed a team-high five assists.
Harvard Highlights
- Sophomore forward Thomas Batties II scored a game-high 16 points on 7-of-13 field goals and 2-of-3 3-pointers alongside three rebounds and three assists. He scored in double figures for the second straight game and third time this season. Batties II paced Harvard in scoring for the first time this year.
- First-year guard Robert Hinton tallied nine points, three rebounds, and two steals.
- Junior guard Chandler Piggé posted eight points, a team-high six rebounds, a game-high three steals, and two assists. He led the Crimson in rebounding for the sixth time this season.
- Senior guard Evan Nelson distributed a team-high five assists with five points, first-year guard Tey Barbour added six points and five rebounds, senior guard Louis Lesmond netted six points with two steals, and first-year guard Ben Eisendrath handed out three assists with two steals.
- For the game, Harvard led in assists (13-10) and points off turnovers (13-11).
Gallery: (11-27-2024) Men's Basketball vs. Massachusetts
How It Happened
- Harvard jumped out to a 13-8 lead at the 12:00 mark of the first half behind six points from Piggé.
- After UMass came within 15-12, the Crimson pushed the margin to 19-12 with 6:23 to go in the first half and maintained a seven-point lead at 24-17 following a 3-pointer from Batties II with 5:00 left in the opening stanza. The Minutemen scored the final seven points of the first half to knot the score at 24-24 at the break.
- A dunk from Batties II kept the score tied at 26-26 early in the second half, and Harvard remained within 35-31 with 14:49 to play before UMass pushed its advantage to 43-33 with 10:58 to go.
- A 3-pointer from Nelson stopped a 6-0 run, and Harvard kept within 45-38 with 9:41 to play prior to Massachusetts using an 8-0 run to move ahead 53-38 with 6:56 to go.
- Harvard responded with a 13-2 run to pull within 55-51 with 2:23 on the clock. A 3-point play from Lesmond started the run before back-to-back 3-pointers from Batties II and Barbour capped the streak.
- The Minutemen then scored the game's next seven points prior to a triple from Barbour that closed the night's scoring.
Postgame Quotes
"It was what we thought it would be – the kind of game it usually has been with our two teams fighting, clawing, and scratching for a chance to come out on top. They were relentless on the backboard. We expected that. They're tough and athletic." –
Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball
Next Up
Harvard plays at Big East member St. John's on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 5:00 p.m. (Peacock).
