Harvard downs Quakers in Boston

Some nights, the shots fall.

Friday night at Lavietes Pavilion in Boston, 58 percent of the shots fell for Harvard. On 11-for-23 three-point shooting, the Crimson won, 79-64. They controlled the game throughout the contest.

While the Quakers (12-14, 6-6 Ivy) kept the game close throughout the first seven minutes, Harvard (22-5, 11-2) quickly displayed its dominance on an 11-point run. Freshman Laurent Rivard led the surge with two straight three-pointers and two free throws. He led all scorers with 21 points.

Penn played conservative defense, allowing the Crimson to shoot 7-for-12 beyond the arc in the first half.

On a night when Harvard shot 60.5 percent of its field goals, Penn coach Jerome Allen simply said his team needed “to play better defense.”

Down 22 at halftime, the Red and Blue clamped down and cut the scoring margin to 15, but couldn’t get any closer.

As soon as junior Zack Rosen hit the trey to put Penn within 15, Oliver McNally, Rivard and Christian Webster each fired off successive three-point shots for Harvard to essentially put the game away with 14 minutes to play.

The Quakers suffered from poor shooting in the second half — 11-for-25 overall and 2-for-11 from three — and couldn’t generate enough offense to mount a comeback.

Miles Cartwright led the Quakers with 16 points in a game-high 38 minutes.

Both Allen and Rosen cited a lack of “poise” in the team’s play.

But for the Crimson, who had five players score in double digits and tallied 20 assists, Penn’s 18-point comeback at the Palestra in February rang loud in clear.

Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said several of his players mentioned that comeback at halftime Friday in order to keep themselves from letting up.

The Crimson’s victory kept their NCAA Tournament chances alive, but their matchup with Princeton Saturday could determine the Ivy League champion.

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