CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard men's basketball battled to the end in a narrow defeat against Cornell at Lavietes Pavilion, as the visitors earned an 86-79 victory.

Sophomore Robert Hinton, facing off against his brother Adam, led the way for the Harvard (10-9, 3-2 Ivy League), recording team-highs in both points (19) and rebounds (6) against the Big Red. Two more Crimson also finished in double-figures in the clash with Cornell (9-9, 2-3), as sophomore guard Tey Barbour recorded 18 points, while junior forward Thomas Batties II scored 14 points.

Off the bench, first-year guard Frankie Mannino made an impact, as the first-year guard recorded a career-high 11 points, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.

Harvard Highlights

• Hinton led the Crimson in scoring with 19 points and was tied for the team-lead in rebounds with six. With his scoring output against the Big Red, Hinton surpasses the 700-career point milestone.
• In all five Ivy League contests this season, Hinton has scored double-digit points, as Hinton leads the Crimson in double-digit performances (15) this season.
• Off the bench, Mannino tallied a career-best 11 points on a perfect 5-for-5 field goal margin.
• Harvard forced 11 turnovers today, as the Crimson force double-digit turnovers for the fourth time in Ivy League action this season.

How it Happened

• Both sides established an offensive rhythm early on in the contest, as Harvard and Cornell went a combined 8-for-9 from the field in the opening three minutes of the contest, with the Crimson taking an 9-8 lead at the 16:50 mark in the first half thanks to a layup from Batties.
• With 15:17 left in the contest, Cornell would take its last lead of the first half, 15-14, as the Crimson would utilize a 14-6 run to establish a 28-19 advantage with 9:15 left in the first half. Four different Crimson found the basket in that stretch, led by the Barbour with seven.
• The Crimson continued to flourish on the offensive and defensive end, producing another impressive run to take its largest lead of the first half. Harvard outscored the visitors, 15-6, in a 3:19 time frame to take a 16-point advantage, 41-25. Coming off the bench, Mannino made an instant impact, netting eight points during the Crimson's smothering run.
• With a three-pointer to end the half, Cornell cut the Crimson lead to single-digits, 44-36.
• Harvard's offensive attack was varied and dynamic in the first 20 minutes against the Big Red. Just like they did in the win against the Quakers earlier in the week, Barbour and Batties led the way offensively. Barbour went 4-for-7 from the three-point to end the half with a team-high 13 points, while Batties utilized a 4-for-6 showing to tally 11 points. Mannino scored a game-high eight bench points in the first half.
• As a team, the Crimson went 7-for-16 from three-point range in the first half while forcing the visitors to a 5-for-15 showing at the three-point line. Harvard posted a 54.8 field goal percentage in the first half.
• The opening 10 minutes of the second half the saw the visitors regain control, as Cornell used a 25-12 run to take a 61-54 lead. The Big Red grew its lead to 70-58 with 7:55 left in regulation.
• From there, the Crimson showcased its resiliency, going a 19-9 run to bring the scoreline withing single-digits, 78-77, with 2:04 left on the clock. Hinton ignited the Crimson offense during the run, dropping a team-high nine points as Barbour and Mannino also hit three-point field goals to propel Harvard's charge.
• With just 1:07 left in regulation, the Crimson took the lead, 79-78, after a pair of free throw makes from Barbour. Cornell would score the final eight points of the contest to earn the 86-79 win.
• Hinton led all scorers for the Crimson with 19 points on a 7-for-12 showing from the field, with four of the makes coming from beyond the three-point line. Barbour ended the day with 18 points, as the Manassas, Virginia native has now scored double-digit points in three-straight contests. Batties scored 14 points for the Crimson to go along with six rebounds.

Postgame Quotes

"Another dramatic Ivy game, unfortunately we were on the short side of this one. We expected a fight with their scoring ability, and I was pleased with a lot of different aspects of our performance." – Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball 

Next Up

The Crimson begin a three-game road swing next week, as Harvard takes on Brown on Friday, Jan. 30 and then renews its rivalry with Yale on Saturday, Jan. 31. Both contests will air live on ESPN+.