CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Junior forward
Thomas Batties II led four Crimson in double figures with a game and season-high 24 points as Harvard Men's Basketball beat Columbia University, 79-54, on Saturday afternoon at Levien Gymnasium.
Playing in its first Ivy League road game of the season, the Crimson (8-8, 1-1 Ivy) never trailed in the contest, leading 38-29 at halftime and extending its lead to as large as 26 points on its way to the victory over the Lions (12-4, 1-1 Ivy).
Batties II scored his 24 points on 8-of-12 field goals, 3-of-6 3-pointers,and 5-of-5 free throws while sophomore guard
Robert Hinton netted 17 points, sophomore guard
Ben Eisendrath tallied 13 points, a game-high five assists, and a game-best five steals, and senior guard
Chandler Piggé contributed 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
As a team, Harvard shot 10-of-21 from 3-point distance (47.6 percent), connecting on double-digit 3-pointers for the third time on the year.
Harvard Highlights
- Junior forward Thomas Batties II scored a game and season-high 24 points on 8-of-12 field goals, 3-of-6 3-pointers, and 5-of-5 free throws alongside five rebounds and four assists. He scored over 20 points for the second time in his last three games after netting 22 points at Colgate (Dec. 28). Batties II eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the fourth time in his career.
- Sophomore guard Robert Hinton tallied 17 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while hitting 8-of-12 field goals. He finished in double figures for the 12th time this year and 31st time in his career.
- Sophomore guard Ben Eisendrath posted 13 points to go with game highs in assists (five) and steals (five), while connecting on 6-of-9 field goals. He scored in double figures for the third time on the year and set a new career high with his five steals.
- Senior guard Chandler Piggé contributed 11 points, a game-high seven rebounds, three steals, and two assists. He finished in double figures for the 13th time on the year and 43rd time in his career.
- Sophomore guard Tey Barbour added nine points and six rebounds, while making 3-of-5 3-pointers.
- As a team, Harvard shot 10-of-21 from 3-point distance (47.6 percent), hitting double-digit treys for the third time on the year. Overall, the Crimson connected on 52.7 percent of its field goals, shooting 50 percent or better from the field for the seventh time on the season.
- Harvard led for 39:29 in the contest and never trailed.
- The Crimson came up with a season-high 13 steals, leading to a 21-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
- Harvard made 11-of-11 free throws, shooting 100.0 percent from the free throw line for the third time on the season alongside an 8-of-8 effort at Penn State (Nov. 19) and 2-of-2 mark vs. Bryant (Nov. 29).
- The Crimson's 79-54, 25-point victory marked Harvard's largest margin of victory in a conference game since a 25-point, 63-38 win at Penn on Jan. 31, 2015.
Gallery: (1-10-2026) Men's Basketball at Columbia
How It Happened
- The Crimson jumped out to a 15-4 lead at the 14:10 mark of the first half as Barbour and Batties II both hit 3-pointers before Hinton netted the final seven points of the stretch, including a 3-pointer and a dunk.
- With Columbia remaining within 21-15 with 9:15 to go in the opening half, the Crimson pushed the lead out to 36-21 with 2:47 left in the half behind a 15-6 run that included 3-pointers from Barbour and Batties II.
- Harvard remained ahead 38-29 at halftime.
- After the Lions cut the margin to 45-37 with 15:40 remaining, the Crimson bumped the advantage back to 15 points at 52-37 with 13:34 to play behind seven consecutive points.
- Still holding a 15-point lead at 63-48 with 8:24 on the clock, Harvard used a 9-0 run to extend the edge to 72-48 with 3:37 to go.
- The Crimson increased the lead to as large as 26 points at 76-50 with 2:02 to play.
Postgame Quotes
- "I thought it was a tremendous effort from start to finish from our guys. It really was defensively. We had energy. We got the stops. We were able to get out and play from ahead. We were able to play a fun style early, which makes you get confidence quickly. On the road, that is so critical." – Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball
- "Columbia was coming off of one of their better wins and were at home, so we knew the significance of this game for them. I'm really proud of our guys for the investment that they put in to regroup and respond as we said we needed to do after our tough loss at home last week. Really proud of our guys." – Coach Amaker
- "It was really just about trusting my game and trusting my teammates and coaches to put me in the best situation. Just letting the work show. I think we game planned very well all week." – Junior forward Thomas Batties II
- "Coach made a point to be very positive coming into this game. We really just knew we wanted to turn over a new page, turn over a new leaf, and make sure that we made the best of our opportunity and turn things around." – Thomas Batties II
Next Up
Harvard hosts Princeton on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+) and Penn on Monday, Jan. 19 at 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+) over Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend.
