M. Basketball Shoots Past Cornell

It was 22-21, and then Harvard started hitting everything in sight.

The Crimson closed the first half on a 9-0 run and proceeded to go 15-of-19 from the field during the final 20 minutes of play, as Harvard (7-10, 2-2 Ivy) defeated Cornell 74-65 at Newman Arena Saturday afternoon.

“We spent more of our time on defense in getting ready for Cornell,” Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said. “We just figured let’s throw the offense up against the wall and see what happens. At the end of the day we wound up shooting 60 percent…and I think we were as shocked as anybody that we were able to generate offense like that.”

Five Crimson players scored in double-figures, including a game-high 16 points from junior forward Matt Stehle and 14 from captain Jason Norman.

Stehle also led the Crimson in boards with eight, and junior center Brian Cusworth added five rebounds and two blocks.

The Big Red (7-10, 2-2) cut the Harvard lead to five with under a minute remaining, but the Crimson hit eight crucial free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.

“Those free throws were really, really big for us and helped us preserve a terrific win,” Sullivan said.

Leading 45-41, Harvard put together a 10-0 run including three-pointers from junior guard Michael Beal and sophomore guard Jim Goffredo to give the Crimson a 14-point lead, its largest of the contest.

Cornell used a 12-6 spurt to close the gap to 61-53, but Goffredo struck again, nailing another trifecta to give Harvard back the double-digit advantage.

Goffredo finished with 11 points on the game and went 3-for-5 from behind the arc.

“In the second half, it seemed like Jimmy and Dave and Jason couldn’t miss a shot,” Stehle said.

Trailing 33-21 just moments after halftime, the Big Red tightened up defensively, outscoring the Crimson 18-10 to pull within four midway through the second period. But that would be as close as Cornell would get, as Harvard’s hot shooting down the stretch propelled it past the Big Red.

“They pressed us, but we just did a great job of finding open shooters,” Stehle said. “We moved the ball well and were really unselfish. We didn’t let their defense dictate our offense.”

Cornell shot just 33.3 percent from the field in the first half, but four threes allowed the Big Red to stay close as it trailed the Crimson 22-21 with just a few minutes left in the half. But three-pointers by Cusworth and Goffredo afforded Harvard some separation as it staked itself to a 31-21 halftime lead.

“Our defense really got us through the first half,” Stehle said.

Excluding those two trifectas nailed within the final two minutes of the half, the Crimson went 1-for-9 from behind the arc in the opening period, but shot 9-of-14 from two-point range. After the intermission, Harvard took just five more three-pointers the rest of the way, helping it post its best shooting half of the season.

The Crimson has left Newman Arena victorious in each of the last two seasons and has won eight of its last 10 contests against the Big Red in Ithaca.

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.