Harvard Clinches Share of Second-Ever Ivy Championship with Defeat of Cornell

ITHACA, N.Y.—There may be no better indicator of just how far the Harvard men’s basketball program has come than the Crimson’s reaction following Saturday night’s 67-63 win over Cornell Saturday night at Newman Arena.

Despite clinching at least a share of the program’s second consecutive Ivy League championship, Harvard’s celebration was relatively subdued following its win over the Big Red.

Crimson coach Tommy Amaker briefly lifted his arm into the air, and co-captain Keith Wright gave junior Kyle Casey a hug, but Harvard disappeared into the locker room shortly after shaking hands with Cornell.

With Penn’s 68-47 victory over Yale Saturday night, the Quakers (19-11, 11-2 Ivy) and Crimson (26-4, 12-2) remain even in the loss column with one game remaining in the Ancient Eight schedule.

If Penn defeats Princeton on the road Tuesday night in the Ivy League’s regular season finale, Harvard will square off against the Quakers this weekend in a one-game playoff to determine the recipient of the Ivy League’s automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.

“If we have to play some more, we’ll play,” said Harvard coach Tommy Amaker, whose squad nearly squandered an 11-point second-half lead on Saturday.

Spurred by senior guard Chris Wroblewski’s 15 second-half points, the Big Red cut the Crimson’s lead to one with 3:54 to play but was unable to get any closer.

Co-captain Oliver McNally scored nine points in the final 2:21 of play, leading the Crimson on an 11-8 run to seal the title-clinching win.

McNally and fellow guard Brandyn Curry, who combined for 26 second-half points, came up big for Harvard throughout the final frame.

After going scoreless in the first half, Curry scored 12 straight points for the Crimson off four three-pointers during a stretch of 3:27, turning a one-point deficit into a seven-point Harvard lead.

“I was just taking my open shots,” said Curry, who entered Saturday’s contest shooting 26.2 percent from deep. “[Coach] always yells at us to be ready to take our open shots. I just stepped up and took ’em. Fortunately, they gave me four open ones, and they went in finally.”

Curry’s first triple came just moments after the Big Red grabbed its first lead of the game off a Jonathan Gray three-pointer with 17:31 to play.

Curry answered 11 seconds later, sticking a shot off a McNally pass.

The Big Red regained the advantage off a pair of Etan Chemerinski free throws with 15:52 to go, but once again, Curry had the answer, drilling a trey from the top of the key to put Harvard up by one, 35-34.

“I thought Brandyn Curry showed so much courage,” Amaker said. “He’s got a heart of a champion. He’s made big plays and big shots for us throughout his career.”

Curry added two more threes to put Harvard up by seven, 41-34, with 14:04 to go. The Crimson never trailed the rest of the way.

“[Opponents] don’t think that Brandyn is going to be aggressive to score,” Wright said. “I told him that a couple weeks ago, ‘You got to be aggressive.’ And he was tonight, using the ball screen well.”

McNally extended Harvard’s lead to 11, 55-44, with 6:13 to go off a jumper, but Cornell refused to give up.

After struggling to find the bottom of the net throughout the game, the Big Red caught fire with 6:02 to go, going five for five from the field over 2:19 of play to pull within one, 56-55.

Junior Kyle Casey put an end to the 11-1 Cornell run, elevating over his defender and banking in a shot off the backboard to put the Crimson up by one.

After a Galal Cancer miss, Harvard swung the ball to an open McNally on the perimeter. The guard stuck his third triple on the night, making it a six-point game with 2:21 to go.

Wroblewski, who scored 12 of Cornell’s final 17 points, brought Cornell within two, 63-61, after nailing a free throw with 26 ticks on the clock.

Harvard proceeded to inbound the ball to McNally, who was intentionally fouled and sent to the line where he knocked down both attempts.

Wroblewski responded by taking it coast to coast for two with 14 seconds to play, but the Crimson once again successfully inbounded the ball to McNally. The senior was again sent to the line where he knocked down both free throws.

Cornell’s Drew Ferry air-balled a three-pointer on the Big Red’s final possession, and the Crimson escaped with the four-point win.

“I’m very proud of this group,” Amaker said. “It’s the second [Ivy title] in a row, which says a heck of a lot about the job these kids have done.”

Harvard led by as many as 12 in the opening frame, capitalizing on the Big Red’s 32.1 percent shooting in the first period. But the Crimson, which turned the ball over seven times in the opening frame, went into the break leading by six, 27-21.

Cornell shot better in the second half, going 13-of-27, but finished the game shooting 40 percent from the field. Harvard was 48.8 percent from the field on the night and finished with 14 turnovers.

Amaker and his players will now have to wait until Tuesday’s Penn-Princeton matchup to learn whether their next matchup takes place in the first round of the NCAA tournament or an Ivy League playoff.

If Penn comes up with the win, the Crimson will square off against the Quakers this weekend at a neutral site.