PHILADELPHIA – Senior guard
Evan Nelson hit a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, and first-year guard
Robert Hinton hit four free throws inside of the final minute of overtime as Harvard Men's Basketball pulled out a 79-78 win in overtime over the University of Pennsylvania at The Palestra on Saturday night.
Facing a five-point deficit with under 30 seconds to play in regulation, the Crimson (10-14, 5-6 Ivy) remained within 71-68 with five seconds left allowing an inbounds pass from first-year guard
Austin Hunt to find its way into the hands of Nelson, who sank the trey that forced the bonus session against the Quakers (7-17, 3-8 Ivy) as Harvard improved to 28-6 in overtime games under
Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball.
Playing in its final road game of the regular season and in its first overtime contest of the season, the Crimson held a lead as large as 17 points in the first half and remained ahead 40-28 at halftime before facing a five-point deficit on four occasions inside of the final four minutes of regulation. The Crimson then closed the second half on a 7-2 spurt in the final 26 seconds to send the game to the bonus session.
Hinton led five Crimson in double figures with 22 points on 5-of-10 field goals and a career-high 12-of-13 free throws alongside game highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (three). Sophomore forward
Thomas Batties II (15 points), junior guard
Chandler Piggé (14 points), first-year guard
Austin Hunt (13 points), and Nelson (10 points) joined him in double figures as Harvard tallied five double-figure scorers for the first time since Jan. 21, 2023.
The Crimson currently stands in fifth place in the Ivy League standings with a 5-6 mark in conference play alongside Brown (13-11, 5-6 Ivy League) – its next opponent. Harvard now sits one game out of fourth place – and the final spot in the Ivy League Tournament – in the conference standings.
Harvard Highlights
- First-year guard Robert Hinton scored a team-high 22 points on 5-of-10 field goals and career-high 12-of-13 free throws, while posting a game-high eight rebounds and game-best three assists. He scored over 20 points for the sixth time this season and for the second time on the weekend after scoring a career-high 31 points at Princeton on Friday night. For the weekend, he scored 26.5 points per game on 15-of-25 field goals (60.0 percent) and 20-of-22 free throws (90.9 percent).
- Sophomore forward Thomas Batties II registered 15 points and connected on six field goals. He finished in double figures for the 13th time on the year.
- Junior guard Chandler Piggé netted 14 points and made five field goals, finishing in double figures for the 20th time on the season.
- First-year guard Austin Hunt posted 13 points on 6-of-7 field goals and 1-of-1 3-pointers to go with two assists and two rebounds. He scored in double figures for the fifth time this season and matched his Ivy season high, which came in the season's earlier matchup with Penn (Jan. 20). Hunt tied his season high in field goals made.
- Senior guard Evan Nelson scored 10 points and hit the 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime tied at 71-71. He made 4-of-9 field goals and 2-of-5 3-pointers, while adding a game-high three assists and two steals.
- Senior guard Louis Lesmond grabbed a season-high seven rebounds.
- Harvard shot a season-best 95.0 percent (19-of-20) from the free throw line for any game with seven or more attempts one night after hitting 17-of-18 shots (94.4 percent) from the charity stripe.
- The Crimson tallied five double-figure scorers for the first time since Jan. 21, 2023.
Gallery: (2-22-2025) Men's Basketball at Penn
How It Happened
- Harvard jumped out to a 21-4 lead at the 11:42 mark of the first half as Batties II scored seven points and Piggé hit a pair of 3-pointers in the early action.
- The Crimson maintained a 17-point advantage at 27-10 with 7:39 left in the first half following back-to-back buckets from Batties II.
- After Penn pulled within 27-17 with 5:45 to go in the opening half, Hinton (six points) and Hunt (seven points) combined to score the Crimson's final 13 points of the first half as Harvard took a 40-28 lead into halftime.
- After Nelson hit a 3-pointer to open the second half, the Quakers responded with a 17-4 run to pull within 47-45 with 11:12 to play in regulation. Three straight free throws from first-year Tey Barbour stopped the run.
- A dunk from Hinton gave Harvard a 56-49 lead with 7:12 on the clock in the second half before Penn countered with a 14-2 run to move ahead 63-58 with 3:35 remaining in the second half.
- Still facing a five-point deficit at 69-64 with under 30 seconds to play, Hinton hit a jumper with 26 seconds left and two free throws with six seconds remaining to pull the Crimson within 69-68.
- After the Quakers hit two free throws with five seconds left to make the margin 71-68, Hunt sent an inbounds pass into the frontcourt that was tipped into the hands of Nelson, who took two dribbles to his right and sank a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds on the clock to force overtime knotted at 71-71.
- In overtime, two free throws from Batties II and a bucket from Hunt kept the score tied at 75-75 with 1:28 on the clock.
- After Penn moved ahead 77-75, Hinton made a pair of free throws to tie it at 77-77 with 56 seconds left and them sank two more shots from the charity stripe with 26 seconds remaining to turn a 78-77 deficit into a 79-78 lead.
- The Crimson then stymied the Quakers on their final possession, including a block from Lesmond with two seconds to play.
Postgame Quotes
"It was a vintage, typical, as we've seen through the years Ivy League contest on a Saturday night. We've been in a number of these through the years. I can't say enough about the will that both teams had here on senior night for their team. I was so impressed with the guts that our kids had to have, especially our young kids –
Austin Hunt,
Robert Hinton,
Tey Barbour. Just amazing plays by all our guys." –
Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball
"Then obviously with
Evan Nelson making the three to put us into overtime. Also,
Louis Lesmond with the late block against Brown. I was just really happy for our guys. They showed toughness. They showed intelligence. They just made the plays necessary to win. It was just a one-play ending kind of game, and we were lucky to be able to finish it out." – Coach Amaker
"I told my teammates if they tipped it, I'd get it. I just have confidence. I like The Palestra. I knew if I got a look, I was going to make it. I'm happy he tipped it, and it worked out how it did." – Senior guard
Evan Nelson
"That was a team win. I love the effort. Everybody played together. We didn't quit. We competed all the way – 45 minutes. We knew once we got it into overtime – we practice that every day – that we were going to win. Gutsy effort from everybody on the team. I'm proud of us." –
Evan Nelson
"We're happy. A win's a win, especially in this league. We're happy however we can get it. We're hoping to close out strong at home. We just won two, so hopefully we can take that momentum starting from this game and finish strong for the rest of the season." –
Evan Nelson
Next Up
Harvard closes the regular season on a three-game homestand with matchups at Lavietes Pavilion against Brown on Friday, Feb. 28 at 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+), Yale on Saturday, Mar. 1 at 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+), and Dartmouth on Saturday, Mar. 8 at 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+).
