26 November, 2006
by Jake Wilson
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Lehigh (2-5) |
22 |
53 |
75 |
| Harvard (2-3) |
41 |
42 |
83 |
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
With Harvard struggling at the free throw line and with turnovers, Lehigh ran off an 11-1 to turn a 71-55 game into a six-point game. After another Crimson turnover, the Mountain Hawks ended up with a 2-on-1 fastbreak and appeared poised to further cut into the lead. However, Jim Goffredo stepped up and drew a charging foul on Kyle Neptune, giving the ball back to Harvard. At the other end, Drew Housman drove to the bucket and got a scoop shot to fall, restoring the Crimson lead to eight points with just over two minutes left.
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| Key sign it was over |
Following a stretch when it missed 6 of 7 free throw attempts, Harvard rediscovered its stroke from the line. The Crimson was perfect from the free throw line down the stretch, hitting its final nine free throw attempts to hold off the hard-charging Mountain Hawks. When Goffredo sank two from the stripe with 24 seconds left, the lead was back to double digits and the only thing left in doubt was Harvard’s margin of victory.
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| Key performance |
Brian Cusworth bounced back from a pair of disappointing performances against Michigan and Holy Cross and got back on track with a strong afternoon. The seven-footer led all scorers with 20 points, adding seven rebounds and three blocks in 29 minutes.
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| Key statistic |
Lehigh actually had one more field goal and two more three-pointers than Harvard, so it was the Crimson’s big edge at the free throw line that made the difference. Harvard owned a 34-12 advantage in free throw attempts and outscored Lehigh 25-11 at the stripe.
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| Notes
– Lehigh never led in the game and trailed by as many as 22 in the first half. The Mountain Hawks scored 23 of the first 33 points of the second half to cut that deficit to six, but Harvard responded with nine unanswered points to put the margin back up to 15. Later, the Mountain Hawks would put together a 14-2 run to again draw within six, but could get no closer.
– Jose Olivero led Lehigh in scoring with 15 points, but had an off game shooting the ball. The Pariot League’s leading scorer shot just 5 of 17 from the field and 1 of 7 from the three-point arc. Harvard coach Frank Sullivan attributed those numbers to a strong defensive performance by Goffredo.
– Neither team did a good job on the defensive glass. Lehigh rebounded at 45.0 percent offensively, while Harvard actually drew even at 50.0 percent on the offensive boards. 49 second-chance points were scored, with the Mountain Hawks owning a 29-20 edge in that department. Sullivan got a combined four offensive boards by wings Andrew Pusar and James Lambert.
– Billy Taylor got strong efforts off his bench by a pair of young forwards. Zahir Carrington used his quickness and athleticism to net 10 points and grab eight rebounds in 22 minutes, while Phil Anderson had 11 points and four rebounds (three offensive) in just 14 minutes.
– Brad Unger came off the bench to score in double digits for the Crimson for the third time this season.
– Taylor will face his alma mater when Lehigh travels to South Bend to take on Notre Dame on Monday, November 27, with the tip scheduled for 7:30 pm ET.
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