CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Five Crimson scored in double figures, first-year guard
Austin Hunt hit a 3-pointer with 21.1 seconds left to give the hosts a five-point lead, and Harvard Men's Basketball snapped Yale University's 13-game win streak – the longest active streak in the nation entering the day – with a 74-69 victory on Saturday afternoon at Lavietes Pavilion.
The Crimson (11-15, 6-7 Ivy) held a lead as large as 13 points in the first half, remained ahead 38-27 at halftime, and never trailed in the second half, holding off a late charge from the Bulldogs (19-7, 12-1 Ivy) – a team that entered the game undefeated in conference play and having already secured the Ivy League regular season title and the league's top seed for the conference tournament.
After the visitors trimmed the margin down to 69-67 with 51 seconds left, on the ensuing possession for Harvard, Hunt sank a 3-pointer off the backboard as the shot clock expired with 21.1 seconds to go to give the Crimson a 72-67 edge. He then sank a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining to seal the win.
Junior guard
Chandler Piggé led the Crimson in points (13), rebounds (seven), and assists (four) as the Crimson totaled five double-figure scorers for the second time in its last three games. Senior guard
Evan Nelson (12 points), senior guard
Louis Lesmond (11 points), Hunt (10 points), and first-year guard
Tey Barbour (10 points) joined him in double figures.
With the victory Harvard moved into a tie for fifth place in the conference standings with Brown (14-12, 6-7 Ivy), sitting two games behind the two teams tied for third place – Princeton (18-9, 7-5 Ivy) and Cornell (15-10, 7-5 Ivy). The Tigers and Big Red meet tomorrow – Sunday, Mar. 2 – at 2:00 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN+) in Ithaca, New York. Following that contest, Harvard will sit just one game out of fourth place and the final spot in the Ivy League Tournament.
Harvard Highlights
- Harvard tallied five double-figure scorers for the second time in its last three games after also accomplishing the feat at Penn (Feb. 22).
- Junior guard Chandler Piggé totaled team highs in points (13), rebounds (seven), and assists (four), while shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 2-of-2 from the foul line. He scored in double figures for the 21st time this season and led the Crimson in scoring for the 11th time. He paced Harvard in rebounding for the 18th time in 2024-25.
- Senior guard Evan Nelson posted 12 points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals, connecting on 5-of-9 field goals. He finished in double figures for the 12th time this year.
- Senior guard Louis Lesmond notched 11 points, five rebounds, and two assists, connecting on 4-of-7 field goals and 2-of-2 free throws. He scored in double figures for the 10th time this year.
- First-year guard Austin Hunt contributed 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists, hitting 2-of-2 3-pointers and 2-of-2 free throws. Hunt hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 21.1 seconds left to give Harvard a 72-67 lead. He finished in double figures for the sixth time this season.
- First-year guard Tey Barbour netted 10 points on 3-of-4 field goals, 2-of-3 triples, and 2-of-2 free throws alongside two assists. He finished in double figures for the fourth time in 2024-25 and for the first time in conference play.
- Sophomore forward Thomas Batties II chipped in nine points, a team-high seven rebounds, and a game-best four blocks. His four blocks stood as a season high in conference play.
- First-year guard Robert Hinton added six points and five rebounds. He now has 375 points on the year, ranking fifth on Harvard's first-year single-season scoring list.
- The Crimson hit 11-of-11 free throws on the day, making 100 percent of its shots at the foul line for the first time this season in a game with double-digit attempts. Harvard has shot 78.6 percent from the charity stripe in conference play this season.
- Harvard held a 28-6 advantage in bench points and led for 35:27 in the contest.
- The Crimson topped Yale for the first time since an 83-69 victory over the Bulldogs on March 7, 2020 in Lavietes Pavilion.
How It Happened
- Harvard opened the game with an 18-12 lead at the 12:22 mark of the first half as Lesmond scored seven points in the opening eight minutes including a 3-pointer.
- The Crimson later used a 10-1 run to extend a 24-19 edge into a 34-21 advantage with 6:31 left in the first half. Barbour and first-year guard Ben Eisendrath hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the run before Barbour and Piggé both converted layups. The 13-point lead stood as the hosts' largest in the game.
- Harvard maintained a 38-27 lead at halftime.
- A 3-pointer from Batties II kept Harvard up 45-33 with 17:32 remaining before Yale cut the margin to 47-42 with 14:52 on the clock behind a 9-2 spurt.
- Harvard answered with a 7-1 streak to re-gain a double-digit advantage at 54-43 with 12:17 to play behind a 3-pointer from Barbour and layup from Piggé.
- A 3-pointer from Hunt kept the Crimson ahead 57-47 before the Bulldogs trimmed their deficit to 57-53 with 8:43 to go. Nelson stopped the run with a 3-pointer of his own to make the margin 60-53.
- The Crimson remained ahead 67-59 following a 3-point play from Nelson with 3:45 left prior to an 8-2 spurt from Yale that whittled the difference to 69-67 with 51 seconds to go.
- On the ensuing possession, Hunt hit a 3-pointer off the backboard as the shot clock expired to give Harvard a five-point edge at 72-67 with 21.1 seconds remaining. Hunt then connected on a pair of free throws with seven seconds to play to seal the win.
Gallery: (3-1-2025) Men's Basketball vs. Yale
Postgame Quotes
"What a gutsy effort by our guys. I told our kids that not many people expected them after last night to be able to turn things around and play with a spirt and energy and determination and toughness that we had to against the best team in our league. They have shown that and deserved that throughout the year. Just so proud of our guys for fighting and clawing. After last night that's not easy to do especially against this team. Really proud of our kids for their effort here this afternoon." –
Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball
"Austin's shot – we deserved one of those at some point, but most importantly to me was making the free throws. That was as good as it gets for me because there is pressure there to do that." – Coach Amaker
"We've been working on this stuff all season. I had to get a shot off. I saw a little space and just let it go. At first, I was thinking let's just get back on defense, let's get a stop and finish this game. It was an amazing feeling. There were a ton of people here, and nothing better against Yale. Everyone's been supporting each other all season. We've been grinding it out. We've had some ups and downs all year, but us coming together for this game right now means a lot to keep this momentum going for Dartmouth." –
Austin Hunt
"I think we're a lot tougher than we look. We've lost a lot of guys with size, but in practice and the way that we approach each other is that we are going to be tough. We are going to push each other. We are going to grind. Size doesn't matter to us. It's all about our heart. We talk about that every day. How it feels in our heart, how we are going to be deserving of wins, we were coming out here, and we weren't going to back down from anybody." –
Chandler Piggé
Next Up
Harvard hosts Dartmouth on Saturday, Mar. 8 at 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+) at Lavietes Pavilion in its regular season finale.
