PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Sophomore guard
Robert Hinton scored a team-high 20 points, and junior forward
Thomas Batties II posted 19 points and eight rebounds, but Harvard Men's Basketball fell at the University of Pennsylvania, 64-61, at The Palestra on Saturday night.
Closing out its final back-to-back of the regular season with its last road game of the year, the Crimson (16-11, 9-4 Ivy) held a 31-21 lead at halftime and re-gained possession with an opportunity to tie the game in the waning moments before the host Quakers (15-11, 8-5 Ivy) held on for the decision behind a second-half rally.
Based on the night's results, Harvard secured the No. 2 seed for the Ivy League Tournament and will face No. 3 seed Penn in the semifinals on Saturday, Mar. 14 at 2:00 p.m. (ESPNews). The two teams split the regular season series as Harvard topped Penn, 64-63, on Jan. 19.
Hinton scored his team-high 20 points on 10-of-17 field goals, reaching the 20-point mark for the ninth time this year and finishing in double figures for the 23
rd time, including in all 13 Ivy games. Batties II netted his 19 points on 7-of-11 field goals and 4-of-9 3-pointers to score in double figures for the 19
th time on the season.
Harvard Highlights
- Sophomore guard Robert Hinton scored a team-high 20 points on 10-of-17 field goals to go with five rebounds. He reached the 20-point mark for the ninth time this year and finished in double figures for the 23rd time, including in all 13 Ivy League games.
- Junior forward Thomas Batties II posted 19 points, a team-high eight rebounds, and a game-best two blocks, while shooting 7-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-7 from 3-point distance. He logged his 19th double-figure scoring game of the year and 40th double-figure game of his career.
- Senior guard Chandler Piggé contributed nine points, seven rebounds, and a game-high four assists, sophomore guard Tey Barbour added nine points and four rebounds, and sophomore guard Ben Eisendrath chipped in five boards, three assists, and two steals.
- Harvard led for 25:09 in the contest while Penn led for 10:43.
- The Crimson closed the year with a 6-1 record in road games during conference play.
Gallery: (2-28-2026) Men's Basketball at Penn
How It Happened
- Harvard jumped out to a 15-5 lead at the 9:40 mark of the first half as Hinton scored eight points during that opening stretch.
- After the Quakers pulled within 18-15 with 6:45 to go in the first half, the Crimson closed the half on a 13-6 spurt to take a 31-21 lead into halftime. Batties II eight points during the run while Barbour closed the half with a 4-point play.
- Opening the second half, Penn outscored the visitors, 23-10, to take a 44-41 advantage with 10:47 remaining.
- An old-fashioned 3-point play from Piggé stopped the run, knotting the score at 44-44 with 10:32 left.
- Harvard remained within two possessions for the remainder of the game but could not re-gain the lead.
- A conventional 3-point play from Batties II trimmed the margin to 56-53 with 4:47 to go, a layup from Eisendrath made the score 60-59 with 1:33 remaining, and a layup from Hinton kept Harvard within 62-61 with 34 seconds to play.
- Trailing 64-61 inside of the final 20 seconds, 3-point shots from Hinton and Barbour did not fall as the hosts held on for the decision.
Postgame Quotes
- "It was vintage of our league with these close, hard-fought games. I thought both teams put their hearts on the line. We had a 10-point lead at the half. They came out right at the beginning of the second half, and I thought gained momentum right away. From that point forward, it was a nip-and-tuck, one-possession kind of game. We had our chances there at the end with open shots." – Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball
Next Up
Harvard hosts Columbia in its regular season finale for Senior Night on Friday, Mar. 6 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) before competing at the Ivy League Tournament (Mar. 14-15).
