CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Senior guard
Chandler Piggé scored a game and season-high 23 points, sophomore guard
Robert Hinton netted 22 points, and Harvard Men's Basketball overcame a 20-point first half deficit to beat the University of New Hampshire, 86-75, on Sunday afternoon at Lavietes Pavilion.
Facing a deficit as large as 20 points at 48-28 with 2:10 left in the first half, the Crimson (2-0) outscored the Wildcats (1-2), 54-27, in the second half, using 17 straight points to pull within 50-49 with 14:45 to play, scoring 13 consecutive points to move ahead 71-66 with 4:25 left, and registering 11 straight points to take an 86-73 edge with 31 seconds left.
As part of an effort in which all five starters scored in double figures for Harvard, Piggé scored his 23 points on 8-of-11 field goals, 2-of-4 3-pointers, and 5-of-7 free throws alongside a game-high six assist and game-best three steals. Hinton netted his 22 points on 9-of-16 field goals while sophomore guard
Tey Barbour (14 points, 4-of-6 3-pointers, six rebounds), sophomore guard
Austin Hunt (13 points, six rebounds), and junior forward
Thomas Batties II (12 points, five boards) all scored in double figures.
Competing against a Division I opponent for the first time this year in the regular season, the Crimson overcame a 20-point deficit for the fourth time during the tenure of
Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball.
Harvard Highlights
- Senior guard Chandler Piggé scored a game and season-high 23 points on 8-of-11 field goals, 2-of-4 3-pointers, and 5-of-7 free throws, while posting a game-high six assists, game-best three steals, and two rebounds. He scored over 20 points for the first time this season and for the third time in his career. Piggé finished in double figures for the 32nd time in his career.
- Sophomore guard Robert Hinton netted a season-high 22 points on 9-of-16 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws alongside four rebounds and two assists. He eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the first time this season and seventh time in his career. Hinton scored in double figures for the 20th time in his career. He registered 18 of his 22 points in the second half, shooting 8-of-10 from the field in the stanza.
- Sophomore guard Tey Barbour matched his career highs with 14 points and four made 3-pointers to go with a team-high six rebounds. He hit 4-of-6 3-pointers and 2-of-2 free throws to finish in double figures for the second time this year and sixth time in his career.
- Sophomore guard Austin Hunt posted 13 points, a team-high six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. He shot 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Hunt finished in double figures for the first time this year and eighth time in his career.
- On his birthday, junior forward Thomas Batties II notched 12 points, five rebounds, and two blocks, while connecting on 2-of-3 3-pointers. He scored in double figures for the second straight game to open the year and 23rd time in his career. Batties II recorded all 12 of his points in the second half.
- All five starters scored in double figures for Harvard. The Crimson placed five players in double digits for the second time in its last three games dating back to last year's season finale vs. Dartmouth (Mar. 8).
- Harvard overcame a 20-point deficit for the fourth time during the tenure of Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball. The 20-point comeback matched the third largest comeback during that span, trailing only a 24-point comeback vs. Brown (Feb. 12, 2011) and 21-point comeback at Cornell (Feb. 20, 2016).
- In the second half, Harvard shot 71.4 percent from the field (20-of-28), 71.4 percent from 3-point distance (5-of-7), and 81.8 percent from the free throw line (9-of-11) on its way to outscoring the Wildcats, 54-27 over the final 20 minutes.
How It Happened
- A 3-pointer from Hunt and layup from first-year Ryan Sullivan brought Harvard within 13-11 at the 14:36 mark of the first half before UNH used a 12-0 run to pull ahead 25-11 with 11:11 left in the first half.
- A pair of 3-pointers from Barbour and four points from Piggé allowed the Crimson to remain within 30-23 with 8:04 to go in the opening half prior to the Wildcats moving ahead 40-25 with 4:15 to play until halftime.
- The visitors expanded the margin to as large as 20 points at 48-28 with 2:10 left in the first before Harvard cut the difference to 48-32 at the break.
- After UNH scored the second half's opening field goal, the Crimson countered with a 17-0 run to trim the margin to 50-49 with 14:45 to go. During the run, Hinton scored seven points, including an old-fashioned 3-point play while Piggé and Batties II each netted five points.
- Harvard took its first lead since the score was 2-0 behind a 3-pointer from Batties II that put the hosts in front 54-52 with 13:18 to play.
- After UNH re-gained a 66-58 advantage, Harvard answered with 13 consecutive points to pull ahead, 71-66 with 4:25 remaining. An old-fashioned 3-point play from Hinton capped the streak.
- With 2:51 remaining Barbour hit a 3-pointer to give the Crimson a 75-51 lead after the Wildcats pulled within one at 72-21.
- Still leading at 75-73, the Crimson scored 11 straight points to ahead 86-73 with 31 seconds left. Another trey from Barbour and a dunk from Hinton highlighted the stretch.
Gallery: (11-9-2025) Men's Basketball vs. New Hampshire
Postgame Quotes
- "We had great balance with those guys – we went with them pretty much the whole time. What a great job by our guys to fight, to compete, to scrap and claw. It's amazing how things can turn, and we know that. I was very pleased with our second-half defense. We didn't bail them out and put them on the free throw line. We played our defense without fouling for the most part. Outstanding job by our entire team. You have to have a team that shows character to be able to pull one out like that." – Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball
- "We knew where we fell short in the first half. When we came to halftime, we talked over everything that we needed to do. We knew where we made our mistakes. We reaffirmed to ourselves that we know what we were supposed to go out there and do. The main thing that coach said was 'compete,' and that is what we were missing in the first." – Junior forward Thomas Batties II
- "The first half just wasn't us. We needed to guard the ball better. There was a lot that could've been better, but we didn't give up. Our coach told us that we have to 'compete, compete, compete.' That's exactly what we did in the second half. We really came together. We pulled through and got the comeback. I'm just really happy for the team. Our guys gave it their all." – Sophomore guard Robert Hinton
Next Up
Harvard hosts Northeastern on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+).
