QUEENS, N.Y. – Senior guard
Chandler Piggé scored a team-high 13 points, but Harvard Men's Basketball fell at Big East member St. John's University, 85-59, on Tuesday night at Carnesecca Arena.
The Crimson (6-7) opened the game with a 13-5 lead and remained ahead 31-26 with 6:37 left in the first half before the Red Storm (8-4) closed the half on a 20-2 run and remained ahead throughout the second stanza in a contest televised nationally on FS1.
Piggé scored his 13 points on 6-of-10 field goals with two rebounds and two assists while sophomore guard
Robert Hinton netted 12 points on 6-of-11 field goals alongside three rebounds and two steals.
In the first half, the Crimson led for 12:07 of the opening 20 minutes and shot 53.6 percent from the field.
Harvard Highlights
- Senior guard Chandler Piggé scored a team-high 13 points on 6-of-10 field goals and 1-of-1 free throws alongside two rebounds, two assists, and one steal. He finished in double figures for the 10th time this year and 40th time in his career.
- Sophomore guard Robert Hinton netted 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go with three rebounds, two steals, one assist, and one block. He scored in double figures for the 10th time on the season and for the 29th time in his career.
- Junior forward Thomas Batties II added seven points and three rebounds, junior forward Luca Ace-Nasteski contributed six points on 2-of-2 shooting and 2-of-2 free throws, sophomore guard Tey Barbour chipped in six points and three boards, and sophomore guard Ben Eisendrath distributed a team-high three assists.
- In the first half, the Crimson shot 53.6 percent from the field, hitting 15-of-28 field goals and leading for 12:07 in the opening half.
Gallery: (12-23-2025) Men's Basketball at St. John's
How It Happened
- Harvard opened the game with a 13-5 lead at the 16:14 mark of the first half as Batties II hit a 3-pointer, Hinton netted six points, and Piggé scored the final four points of the opening stretch.
- After St. John's used a 9-0 run to take a 14-13 edge with 13:38 to go in the opening half, Barbour and sophomore guard Austin Hunt each hit a 3-pointer on either side of a dunk from Ace-Nasteski as the Crimson pulled back in front, 21-18 with 11:23 on the clock.
- The Crimson remained ahead at 31-26 following a layup from Batties II with 6:37 to go in the half before the Red Storm closed the half on a 20-2 run to take a 46-33 lead into halftime.
- An old-fashioned 3-point play from Piggé kept Harvard within 49-36 with 18:18 remaining prior to a 9-0 run from St. John's that put the hosts ahead 58-36 with 16:28 to play.
- A pair of free throws from Ace-Nasteski made the margin 61-44 with 13:04 to go, but following a 7-0 spurt for St. John's, the Crimson could not cut the difference below 20 points the rest of the way.
Postgame Quotes
- "I was really enthused with the start for us. I thought we came in with a great deal of energy and execution. That was fun to see. They are really a good basketball team – very athletic and very tough. Coming off a tough loss for them, they turned up the pressure against us. We kind of came unglued. As equally I was proud of how we started, I was equally as disappointed in how we came unglued. That was disappointing, but I'm hopeful that the sign of us starting better was here tonight." – Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball
Next Up
Harvard plays at Colgate on Sunday, Dec. 28 at 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+) in its non-league finale.
