CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – First-year guard
Malik Mack scored 18 points to lead four Crimson in double figures as Harvard University men's basketball topped Dartmouth College, 77-59, on Saturday afternoon at Lavietes Pavilion.
Closing out the first half of Ivy League play and a four-game homestand, the Crimson (12-8, 3-4 Ivy) led 41-28 at halftime and pushed its advantage to as large as 25 points at 67-42 with 6:23 remaining on its way to the victory over the Big Green (5-15, 1-6 Ivy), remaining in a tie for fourth place in the conference standings.
Mack netted his 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 4-of-6 3-pointers, while distributing a game-high five assists. Junior guard
Louis Lesmond scored 14 points and hit 4-of-8 triples, first-year forward
Thomas Batties II tallied 13 points and a team-high six rebounds, and sophomore forward
Chisom Okpara added 10 points to go with team highs in rebounds (six), assists (five), and blocks (two).
Harvard Highlights
- First-year guard Malik Mack scored a team-high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 4-of-6 3-pointers, while distributing a game-best five assists. He scored in double figures for the 16th time in 17 games played this year. Mack dished out five or more assists in a game for the ninth time this season and for the fifth time in the last six games. He hit four more 3-pointers for the fourth time in 2023-24.
- Junior guard Louis Lesmond netted 14 points, hitting 5-of-9 field goals and 4-of-8 3-pointers. He hit three or more 3-pointers in a game for the 10th time this year, while finishing in double figures for the 11th time.
- First-year forward Thomas Batties II tallied 13 points, a team-high six rebounds, and two steals, while connecting on 2-of-3 3-pointers and a career-best 7-of-9 3-pointers. He scored in double figures for the seventh time this year.
- Sophomore forward Chisom Okpara contributed 10 points, a team-best six rebounds, a career-high five assists, and two blocks. He posted a double-figure scoring effort for the 18th time in 19 games played this season.
- Sophomore guard Chandler Piggé added eight points, grabbed a team-high six rebounds, and made 4-of-4 free throws while senior forward Justice Ajogbor tacked on eight points and connected on 4-of-5 free throws.
- The Crimson knocked down 10-of-21 3-pointers (47.6 percent) for the game, marking the sixth time this season – and second time in Ivy play – the team has hit double-figure 3-pointers.
- Harvard held a 19-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
Gallery: (2-10-2024) Men's Basketball vs. Dartmouth
How It Happened
- With Dartmouth holding a slight 14-13 edge with 12:05 to go in the first half, the Crimson rattled off a 14-2 run to pull ahead 27-16 with 8:18 to play in the opening half. A dunk from Ajogbor initiated the run before Lesmond hit a pair of 3-pointers.
- After the Big Green moved within 32-26 at the 3:48 mark of the first half, Harvard closed the half on a 9-2 run, taking a 41-28 advantage into the locker room. Batties II scored the final six points of the first half on a pair of 3-pointers including a buzzer beater just before the break.
- Harvard maintained a 13-point lead at 53-40 with 10:48 remaining before using a 14-2 streak to push the margin to 25 points – its larges of the game – at 67-42 with 6:23 to go. Mack scored eight points during the run, including a pair of 3-pointers.
- Another 3-pointer from Mack kept the margin at 73-51 with 3:13 left, and first-years Luca Ace-Nasteski and Xavier Nesbitt each scored buckets inside of the final 90 seconds to help secure the win.
Postgame Quotes
- "I was really pleased, knowing that we had our backs against the wall a little bit with a home game and the conference race. I was really pleased how our guys were dialed in, ready to play, and ready to compete for this one." – Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball
- "We had great balance as you can see with the stat sheet. I was very pleased with that, particularly with our shooting. We made shots from three and from the foul line. We talk about that a lot – how that can dictate a lot of things for your team. That gave us a shot in the arm here this afternoon." – Coach Amaker
- "We had great balance out of our guys. We got different contributions from a lot of different areas. The word 'balance' is critical. We had that this afternoon from so many different guys." – Coach Amaker
Next Up
Harvard plays at Cornell on Friday, Feb. 16 at 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+) and at Columbia on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+) in its first away Ivy back-to-back weekend of the year.
