CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Senior guard
Chandler Piggé matched his career high with 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting, sophomore guard
Robert Hinton netted 17 points, and sophomore guard
Tey Barbour posted his first collegiate double-double on 14 points and 10 rebounds as Harvard Men's Basketball beat Columbia University, 81-71, on Senior Night at Lavietes Pavilion on Friday night.
Playing in its regular season finale, the Crimson (17-11, 10-4 Ivy) led 38-33 at halftime and used a late 9-0 run to turn a 66-65 lead into a 75-65 margin with 3:15 to play to sweep the season series from the Lions (16-12, 5-9 Ivy).
Harvard closed the season with a 10-3 record over its last 13 games and remains in contention for a share of the Ivy League title, entering the final day of the league's regular season with Yale (10-3 Ivy) set to play Princeton tomorrow – Saturday, Mar. 7 – at 2:00 p.m.
The Crimson has already locked in the No. 2 seed for the Ivy League Tournament and will meet No. 3 seed Penn in the semifinals of Ivy Madness on Saturday, Mar. 14 at 2:00 p.m. (ESPNews) at Cornell's Newman Arena in Ithaca, New York. The Crimson and Quakers split the season series, 1-1, with each contest coming down to one possession. Harvard qualified for Ivy Madness for the first time since 2020 and will compete in the event for the first time since 2019 after the 2020 edition of the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Piggé scored his game-high 26 points on 10-of-12 field goals, 3-of-5 3-pointers, and 3-of-4 free throws alongside seven rebounds and three assists to lead four Crimson in double figures. Hinton (17 points, four rebounds, four assists), Barbour (14 points, 10 boards), and junior forward
Thomas Batties II (14 points, eight rebounds) joined him in double figures.
Harvard Highlights
- Senior guard Chandler Piggé matched his career highs in points (26), field goals (10), and 3-pointers (three) alongside seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while shooting 10-of-12 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point distance, and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He scored 20 or more points for the fourth time this season and for the sixth time in his career, finishing in double figures for the 19th time this year and 49th time in his career.
- Sophomore guard Robert Hinton netted 17 points on 6-of-11 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws to go with four rebounds and four assists. He finished in double figures for the 24th time on the season, including in all 14 Ivy League games.
- Sophomore guard Tey Barbour posted his first collegiate double-double behind 14 points and 10 rebounds, adding four assists and two steals. He connected on a trio of 3-pointers in the contest and now has 74 made 3-pointers on the year, tied for the third-most in a single season in program history.
- Junior forward Thomas Batties II tallied 14 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks. He scored in double figures for the 20th time on the year.
- Sophomore guard Ben Eisendrath added a team-high six assists, five points, four rebounds, and two blocks.
- Harvard hit 10-of-23 3-pointers in the game, knocking down double-digit triples for the sixth time on the season.
- The Crimson connected on 15-of-18 free throws (83.3 percent) in the contest, marking the 18th time this year that the team has shot 80 percent or better at the foul line.
Gallery: (3-6-2026) Men's Basketball vs. Columbia
How It Happened
- Harvard opened the game with an 11-5 lead at the 13:40 mark of the first half as Piggé knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the opening six minutes.
- A layup from sophomore Luca Ace-Nasteski, layup from Piggé, and 3-pointer from first-year Kenan Parrish kept the Crimson in front 22-16 with 8:22 left in the first half.
- After Columbia pulled within 22-20, Piggé sank a 3-pointer and threw down a dunk following a steal to put the Crimson up 27-20 with 5:59 left in the half.
- A 3-pointer from Hinton gave Harvard a 36-26 lead – its largest – with 3:34 to play until the break, and the hosts remained ahead 38-33 at halftime.
- After the Lions scored the second half's first basket, neither team held a lead larger than three points until the Crimson used a 7-0 run to turn a 54-52 deficit into a 59-54 lead with 8:35 to play.
- With the score level at 61-61, Barbour knocked down a 3-pointer to push the Crimson back in front 64-61 with 6:23 remaining.
- Still leading 66-65 with 5:34 to go, the Crimson scored nine consecutive points to pull in front 75-65 with 3:15 to go. Barbour started the 9-0 run with a 3-pointer, Eisendrath continued it with an old-fashioned 3-point play, and Barbour closed it with three free throws.
- The Crimson maintained a six-point edge the rest of the way.
Postgame Quotes
- "Having this kind of Senior Night, send-off here at home for Chandler and his effort – maybe one of the best leaders in the history of our program – having a career night on Senior Night, it was very fitting and very deserving." – Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball
- "I was really proud of our team for fighting and making a way when it wasn't always easy. We got a lead. We got 10 points up, but then you give them for not hanging their heads and packing their bags and thinking the season is over. It was very impressive how they played. Our guys had to fight for it here at home on Senior Night. Chandler and Greg did a sensational job." – Coach Amaker
- "The great thing about our team is that it can be anybody's given night. Like Coach said, Robert has had a great year, and we have just followed his lead and try to support him as best we can. Tey's been another great sophomore in this league – and up and coming star and he's been shooting the lights out. Then Thomas and Ben guiding are team. We all can just fit in wherever it is. We are so unselfish as a team. That is part of our standards and identity. We want to be a team that has fun and is unselfish. We do that each and every day. These guys really wanted to send me out the right way, and I just fed off of their energy. I think it is going to continue to lead us going into Ivy Madness." – Senior guard Chandler Piggé
- "Talking about Chandler, I knew Chandler years before being his teammate because he goes way back with my brother. That was really the beginning of me and Chan's relationship. I'm just little bro, and I still am. That's my big bro. Coming in here as a freshman, we have been such a young team not only this year but last year. Having a leader like this who really treats everyone like their little brother – it's a huge family, we're so close, our team chemistry is out of the roof – it's such a pleasure to spend every day with a team like this, but that's because of leaders like Chan." – Sophomore guard Robert Hinton
Next Up
No. 2 seed Harvard plays No. 3 seed Penn in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament on Saturday, Mar. 14 at 2:00 p.m. (ESPNews) at Cornell's Newman Arena in Ithaca, New York.
