Goffredo, Crimson Ground Blackbirds

BROOKLYN, N.Y.—The Harvard men’s basketball team used its best shooting game of the season to bring down the Blackbirds on Saturday afternoon at the Wellness and Recreation Center, beating Long Island University (LIU) 87-79 for its fourth straight victory.

Harvard (5-3) countered the quickness and athleticism of LIU (4-5) by hitting 55 percent of its field goals, including 9-of-20 from three-point range. That hot shooting allowed the Crimson to run its record to 4-0 all-time against the Blackbirds, and gave it its first three-game road winning streak since 2002.

Harvard’s victory was keyed by a crucial stretch of strong defense early in the second half. LIU erased a 44-39 halftime deficit with a quick 8-3 run to open the period, getting a pair of hook shots from forward Kellen Allen and then tying the game on guard Tyrone Mattison’s steal and breakaway layup, but the Crimson quickly returned the favor.

Sophomore point guard Drew Housman and sophomore guard Andrew Pusar forced the ball from guard James Williams, and Pusar found Housman on the break for a lay-up.

On the next possession, captain Jim Goffredo stepped into Mattison’s passing lane at the top of the three-point arc and streaked downcourt for another easy hoop.

Harvard was not done, as sophomore guard Andrew Pusar followed suit with another steal. He fed Housman in the open court and, after continuing to run the floor, got the ball back from the point guard for an open finish to the pretty sequence.

“Clearly that was the turning point of the game for us,” Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said. “In the second half, we showed some toughness to create some separation.”

After collecting only one steal in the first half, Harvard had three in the space of 45 seconds, doubling LIU’s turnover total from the initial period. When Goffredo added a three-pointer to cap a 9-0 Harvard run and put the Crimson up 56-47, the momentum had clearly shifted fully in the Crimson’s favor.

“We definitely wanted to pick up the energy in the second half,” Goffredo said. “Both teams looked a little flat in the first half. We were able to push up [the energy] at a good time, because the game was pretty close.”

The Blackbirds took one more shot at the lead, using three-pointers from guard Aubin Scott and forward Esa Maki-Tulokas to cut the deficit to one with 10 and a half minutes remaining.

The Crimson’s shooting stars of the game, however, soon squelched that rally. Junior forward Brad Unger, who had established a new career high with 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the first half, hit his only attempt of the second, a short bank shot. Goffredo followed with another make from downtown, and after a series of misses on each end, Housman finished off the seven-point Harvard spurt, driving right and hitting a runner off the glass. Housman was fouled on the play and added the free throw to put Harvard up 66-58 with 8:19 to play. LIU never crept within six points the rest of the way.

Goffredo was 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, 8-of-15 overall and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe, pouring in 27 points in his best performance of the young season. Housman also contributed 15 points for Harvard, cutting through LIU’s alternating 2-3 zone and man-to-man defenses with his deceptive ability to get to the basket.

The big games from Harvard’s starting backcourt were essential for the Crimson, as senior center Brian Cusworth, playing with a brace on his finger due to an injury suffered in last week’s win over Colgate, was limited to three field goals by intense defensive pressure from LIU’s interior players.

Goffredo, Housman, and the rest of Harvard’s guards also did an excellent job guarding the Blackbirds’ chief threat from the perimeter.

James Williams, LIU’s leading scorer, entered the game averaging 17.1 points per game and had hit 25 threes in the Blackbirds’ eight games this season, but was 0-of-8 from long range on Saturday. It marked the first time this season that Williams failed to make even a single three-pointer in a game.

“That was first priority for us today: controlling the three-point line, specifically Williams,” Sullivan said. “In a couple situations Williams got away from us on the dribble, and we were okay with that, because he wasn’t getting into his pull-up behind-the-line game.”

The Crimson held on down the stretch by hitting 16-of-21 second-half free throws, while LIU went just 6-of-11 from the stripe after the break. That disparity was nothing new for Harvard, which entered the game having attempted over a hundred more free throws than its opponents with a better conversion rate.

The Crimson will return home tomorrow night to play America East favorite Albany. Tip-off at Lavietes Pavilion is scheduled for 7 p.m.

—Staff writer Caleb W. Peiffer can be reached at cpeiffer@fas.harvard.edu.