Crimson Clips Mountain Hawks

The Harvard men’s basketball team jumped out to a 22-point first-half lead against Lehigh and held off late charges from the Mountain Hawks to win, 83-75, on Saturday at Lavietes Pavilion.

Senior center Brian Cusworth led the Crimson (2-3) with 20 points while sophomore guard Drew Housman had a season-high 18.

Last week’s Patriot League Player of the Week, senior guard Jose Olivero, paced Lehigh (2-5) with 15 points but was only 5-of-17 from the floor.

Trailing 41-22 at halftime, the Mountain Hawks scored on eight of their first nine possessions to start the second half. They cut the Harvard lead to six on five occasions, the latest with 52 seconds left in the game to make the score 77-71.

But the Crimson would not let Lehigh get any closer, as it made seven straight free throws to close out the contest, including four from junior forward Brad Unger, who finished the game with 11 points.

In the first half, Harvard shot 52 percent from the floor and grabbed its largest lead of the season when it went up 39-17 with 1:31 remaining on its way to a 19-point halftime cushion.