CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Sophomore guard
Austin Hunt scored a game and career-high 19 points, sophomore guard
Tey Barbour netted a career-best 18 points, and the Crimson shot a season-best 59.6 percent from the field as Harvard Men's Basketball topped Holy Cross, 81-53, in its home non-league finale on Saturday afternoon at Lavietes Pavilion.
Playing for the first time since Dec. 6 following a break for final exams, the Crimson (6-6) opened the game with a 21-4 lead, remained ahead 41-24 at halftime, and gained a lead as large as 28 points in the second half on its way to the victory over the Crusaders (5-8).
Hunt led four Crimson in double figures with his career-high 19 points on 8-of-9 field goals and 3-of-4 3-pointers while Barbour netted his career-best 18 points on 5-of-6 field goals, 4-of-5 3-pointers, and 4-of-4 free throws to go with a game-high eight rebounds. Senior guard
Chandler Piggé posted 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, and sophomore guard
Robert Hinton tallied 16 points and seven boards.
Harvard Highlights
- Sophomore guard Austin Hunt scored a game and career-high 19 points on 8-of-9 field goals and 3-of-4 3-pointers to go with five rebounds. He set a new career high in field goals made and matched his career-high in 3-pointers made. Hunt finished in double figures for the third time this season and 10th time in his career.
- Sophomore guard Tey Barbour netted a career-high 18 points on 5-of-6 field goals, 4-of-5 3-pointers, and 4-of-4 free throws to go with a game-high eight rebounds. Barbour hit a career-best four 3-pointers in a game for the fourth time this season. He scored in double figures for the ninth time in 2025-26.
- Senior guard Chandler Piggé posted 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks, while shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 2-of-3 from the free throw line. He scored in double figures for the ninth time on the year and for the 39th time in his career.
- Sophomore guard Robert Hinton tallied 16 points and seven rebounds, while connecting on 5-of-9 field goals and 6-of-8 free throws. He notched a double-figure scoring performance for the ninth time this year and for the 28th time in his career.
- Sophomore guard Ben Eisendrath added six points on 3-of-3 field goals with a game-high four assists.
- The Crimson shot a season-best 59.6 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from 3-point distance. In the first half, the Crimson hit 15-of-23 field goals (65.2 percent).
- Harvard limited Holy Cross to 33.3 percent shooting the field and 20.0 percent shooting from 3-point range.
- The Crimson led for 37:44 in the contest.
- Harvard held advantages in points in the paint (46-28) and fastbreak points (13-2).
Gallery: (12-20-2025) Men's Basketball vs. Holy Cross
How It Happened
- Harvard opened the game with a 21-4 lead at the 12:15 mark of the first half, including a 16-0 run. During the stretch, Hunt scored seven points, Hinton converted two old-fashioned 3-point plays, and Piggé added a conventional 3-point play.
- After Holy Cross pulled within 29-19 with 4:49 left in the first half, the Crimson scored 11 straight points to move ahead 40-19 with 1:21 to go in the opening half. Hunt and Barbour each netted five points during the 11-0 burst.
- The Crimson remained in front of the Crusaders, 41-24, at halftime.
- Following six straight points from the visitors, Harvard moved the margin back to 20 points at 50-30 with a 9-0 run, including five points from Barbour and a jumper from junior Xavier Nesbitt.
- Later in the second half, back-to-back 3-pointers from Barbour and Hunt prior to a layup from first-year Ryan Sullivan kept the Crimson up, 62-39, with 10:28 to play.
- Harvard did not allow Holy Cross to trim the margin below 20 points the rest of the way and took its largest lead at 81-53 with 1:55 remaining following a dunk from Hinton.
Postgame Quotes
- "Really pleased with a tremendous team effort. We started very well. We were trying to avoid some of the lapses and bad stretches that we've had throughout this year, having to fight our way back into games. We thought if we could somehow get out of the blocks, have a good start, sustain the effort, and then if we had a chance to be in a position to finish – individual plays, finish the game – all the things around finishing – that's what we were striving to do. Start, sustain, finish was our theme. I thought our guys did that magnificently well." – Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball
- "Austin off the bench for us was terrific. We just had a vibe and spirit about us that I thought was contagious, and it started with our defense. Very pleased with our guys coming out of exams and having this kind of performance here today." – Coach Amaker
- "Coming off a long stretch of practice, we've been able to get some work in. Obviously, I had an injury early in the year, so I was still trying to come back from that. The coaches said that we just need to get into our own offense, play with each other, don't look for your own stuff, try and get what the defense gives you, and stay aggressive. That's how I was looking today." – Sophomore guard Austin Hunt
Next Up
Harvard plays at No. 22 St. John's on Tuesday, Dec. 23 at 6:00 p.m. (FS1) and at Colgate on Sunday, Dec. 28 at 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+) to close non-conference play.
