CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A well-rounded offensive and defensive display made the difference for Harvard men's basketball, as the Crimson toppled the University of Pennsylvania, 64-63, for its third-straight victory in Ivy League play. The Crimson is now tied with Yale atop the Ivy league standings.

Harvard (10-8, 3-1 Ivy League) is 3-1 to start Ancient Eight action this season, representing the Crimson's best start to the Ivy League slate since the 2018-19 campaign. Harvard's defense excelled against Penn (9-8, 2-2), as the Crimson forced 11 turnovers and held the Quakers to a 40.7 field goal percentage.

Tey Barbour and Thomas Batties II each scored a team-high 17 points, as Robert Hinton also contributed 11 points. A native of Los Angeles, California, Hinton has now tallied double-digits in four-straight contests and in 11 of the last 12 outings.

Harvard Highlights

• The Crimson is 3-1 to start Ivy League action this season, representing Harvard's best start to conference action since the 2018-19 campaign.
• Barbour and Batties combined for 34 points, as each student-athlete logged a team-high 17 points.
• A native of Washington, D.C., Batties is now averaging 16.7 points per game in Ivy League action.
• Hinton recorded 11 points against the Quakers, as the Los Angeles, California native registers double-digit points for the fourth straight contest.
• Robert Sullivan made a key contribution off the bench for Harvard, tallying six points and four rebounds with one assist.
• The Crimson force double-digit turnovers for the third time in Ivy League play and for the 13^th time this season.

How it Happened

• A high-tempo, up-and-down pace defined the opening five minutes of the Ivy League clash between Harvard and Penn. Both teams combined for nine three points attempts in initial five minutes of action, as Penn went on a 10-6 run to start the afternoon.
• With 12:15 left in the first half, the Crimson took its first lead of the day. Hinton picked off a Quakers pass, dribbled past the length of the court and spun past a defender to put the Crimson ahead.
• From there, the Crimson built on its lead, as a layup from Chandler Piggé put the Crimson up, 15-11, with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Moments later, Batties and Piggé hit back-to-back threes to push Harvard's lead to 21-13, its largest advantage of the first half.
• The final portion of the first half saw the Crimson and Quakers go back-and-forth, exchanging the lead several times across the final five minutes of the frame. A 9-0 run pushed Penn back into the lead for the first time since the 13:47 mark in the first half, as the Crimson halted the run with a layup from Barbour with 5:09 left in the half.
• After back-to-back Penn makes put the visitors up 26-23 with under three minutes left in the first half, Batties evened the score with his second three-point field goal make of the game with 2:51 on the clock.
• The Crimson's success in three-point land continued, as Barbour knocked down a three to put the Crimson back in the driver's seat, 29-26, at the 1:24 mark. With just seconds left on the clock, a steal from Hinton put the Crimson on the fastbreak, as Hinton finished the layup to provide Harvard a 31-26 lead heading into the halftime break.
• Barbour led all Crimson in scoring in the first half, tallying 10 points on a 4-for-6 showing from the field and a 2-for-4 performance from the three-point line. Batties tallied eight points in the first half as well. Harvard's starting five accounted for all 31 points in the first half.
• Active hands paid off for the Crimson on the defensive end, as Harvard forced eight turnovers and scored seven fastbreak points across the first 20 minutes against the Quakers.
• Barbour's run from three-point range continued to start the second half, as his third three-point field goal put the Crimson up 34-26 early in the final half of regulation.
• Penn utilized a 12-3 lead to regain the lead, 40-39, with 12:18 left in regulation. From there, both sides found success offensively, as the scoreline sat at 44 each with eight minutes left in the second half.
• With 5:31 left, Harvard took control of the game with a statement play, as Hinton finished at the rim through contact to put Harvard up, 49-46, with a three-point play. Penn responded immediately, tying the score with a three-point field goal.
• A three-point field goal from Batties restored the Crimson advantage, 54-51, as Penn hit three free throws across two different trips to tie the score once again with 3:20 remaining in regulation.
• With the clock winding down, the Crimson established a rhythm offensively. Batties and Sullivan converted to push the Crimson lead to 58-54, as a Penn three-point make reduced the Harvard advantage to one. Once again, Hinton stepped up in crunch time, finding the bucket to grow the Harvard lead, 60-57.
• A key defensive play kept the Quakers scoreless on the next position, as Batties swatted a Penn layup off the glass, as Piggé worked his way to the hoop to put Harvard up, 62-57, with just 47 seconds on the clock in the second half.
• From there, the Crimson defense stifled the Quakers, as a layup from Barbour secured the Crimson's 64-63 win.

Postgame Quotes

• "A tremendous, gutsy effort by our entire team. After the sensational win against Princeton, it can be tough to turn things back around in a short window and find that spirit and fight, and I thought our kids brought it. I'm so impressed and proud, and that effort came from the bench. Everything was needed and were able to deliver in so many ways." – Tommy Amaker
• "It's our coaches, they prepared us for these moments. Our chemistry is excellent, we love each other and we are a huge family. When it gets really grimy and gritty at the end of games, I turn and see my brothers. We have so much confidence in end of game scenarios and in every game because of that confidence in each other." – Robert Hinton.

Next Up

Harvard concludes its three-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 24, as the Crimson welcome Cornell to Cambridge for a 2:00 p.m. Ancient Eight Clash. Crimson fans can purchase tickets here as all the action will also air live on ESPN+.