UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Senior guard
Chandler Piggé tallied a team-high 21 points and career-high nine assists, junior forward
Thomas Batties II posted a season-high 17 points and career-high five made 3-pointers, and sophomore guard
Ben Eisendrath scored a career-high 15 points, but Harvard Men's Basketball fell at Penn State University, 84-80, on Wednesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
As part of a game that saw 11 lead changes and eight ties, the Crimson (4-2) remained tied with the Nittany Lions (5-0) at 70-70 with 4:56 to play before the hosts held on for a narrow decision.
Piggé scored his 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting, 3-of-5 3-pointers, and 6-of-6 free throws to go with his nine assists and five rebounds. Batties II made 6-of-12 field goals and 5-of-7 3-pointers for his 17 points alongside a career-best six assists. Eisendrath connected on 6-of-7 field goals as part of his first collegiate game in double figures, and sophomore
Tey Barbour scored 12 points with a team-high seven rebounds.
As a team, Harvard connected on a season-high 12 made 3-pointers, hitting 12-of-27 shots from behind the arc (44.4 percent).
Harvard Highlights
- Senior guard Chandler Piggé tallied a team-high 21 points, career-high nine assists, and five rebounds, while shooting 6-of-11 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point distance, and 6-of-6 on free throws. He scored over 20 points for the second time this season and fourth time in his career. Piggé has finished in double figures in all six games this season.
- Junior forward Thomas Batties II posted a season-high 17 points, distributed a career-best six assists, and matched his career-high with five made 3-pointers. He shot 6-of-12 from the floor and 5-of-7 from behind the arc. Batties II scored in double figures for the fourth time this year and 25th time in his career.
- Sophomore guard Ben Eisendrath scored a career-high 15 points on 6-of-7 field goals, 1-of-2 3-pointers, and 2-of-2 free throws. He registered his first collegiate double-figure scoring effort.
- Sophomore guard Tey Barbour netted 12 points, grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, and shot 5-of-9 from the floor and 2-of-5 from behind the arc. He finished in double figures for the fifth time in six games this year.
- First-year forward Ryan Sullivan added six points on 3-of-3 shooting with two boards. All six of his points came in the final 2:33 of the game.
- The Crimson made a season-high 12 3-pointers, connecting on 12-of-27 shots from downtown (44.4 percent). Harvard limited Penn State to 5-of-19 shooting from 3-point distance (26.3 percent).
Gallery: (11-19-2025) Men's Basketball at Penn State
How It Happened
- Eisendrath scored seven of the Crimson's first 12 points as Harvard remained within 15-12 at the 13:23 mark of the first half. The Nittany Lions then scored seven straight points to move the margin to 22-12 with 11:20 left in the opening half.
- Harvard took a 32-28 lead with 5:18 to go until halftime behind a 20-6 stretch in which Batties II hit two 3-poitners and Piggé and junior guard Xavier Nesbitt each canned one triple.
- Batties II and Piggé each connected on a trey inside of the half's final 2:12 as the Crimson held a 38-35 lead at halftime.
- After Penn State opened the second half with an 11-2 spurt to take a 46-40 edge with 17:03 left, Harvard answered with an 11-4 stretch to re-gain a 51-50 advantage with 13:26 remaining. Barbour netted five points on the run on a 3-pointer and a layup on a fastbreak.
- Neither side held a lead larger than four points until the game moved inside the final 30 seconds as part of a second half that saw six ties and seven lead changes.
- A 3-pointer from Batties II knotted the score at 62-62 with 8:07 on the clock before a 3-pointer from Barbour and three straight free throws from Piggé tied the game at 70-70 with 4:56 left.
- Sullivan scored the Crimson's next six points, keeping the visitors within 78-76 58 seconds to play.
- After Penn State moved ahead 82-76, Piggé converted a 4-point play to trim the margin to 82-80 with 14 seconds to go before the Nittany Lions hit two more free throws to seal the decision.
Postgame Quotes
- "A very tough loss – I thought we fought, competed, and did a lot of really good things. But the things that are necessary to win a game like that, we just weren't tough enough in the moments that we needed to be to win a game like that, to really scrap and claw and pull it out. Give them credit. It was that kind of game. I thought they made some tough plays in critical moments. We didn't defend our rim very well. They had 50 points in the paint, which was the difference. It was disappointing, but hopefully there are some things that we can find to build on." – Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball
Next Up
Harvard plays Boston University on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 1:30 p.m. (NESN NATION) at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase.
