Harvard Falls to Yale in Controversial Finish

After two straight last-second victories over Yale, the shoe was on the other foot tonight for the Harvard men’s basketball team as a foul with under one second left in overtime cost the Crimson the game, as the Crimson’s most significant other, the Bulldogs, nailed two free throws to seal a 76-75 overtime win on Valentine’s Day at Lavietes Pavilion.

Harvard (14-10, 7-3 Ivy) entered the game on a two-game win streak against its hated rival. The Bulldogs (20-4, 8-2), came into Cambridge searching for revenge, and they got it. Despite Yale never possessing the lead and the ball at the same time, the Bulldogs stole victory from the Crimson at the last second.

“Proud of our guys,” said Head Coach Tommy Amaker postgame. “We fought and did everything we could. It’s one of those games where, in all honesty, it’s hard for any team to lose.”

Harvard came out with the physicality and savvy of a team determined to win its first Ivy League Championship since 2019. At the tip of the spear was sophomore Ben Eisendrath. Eisendrath relentlessly hounded any Yale player who dared to dribble near him, and he was credited with two steals for his effort. His effort proved contagious as the Crimson collected nine steals to the Bulldogs three in the first half, and Harvard outscored Yale 15-7 off of those turnovers.

“We were really ready to go and play,” said Amaker. “Our defense is always better, in all honesty, in front of our bench in the first half because we’re there to bark at them.”

The Crimson used its suffocating defense to jump out to a 6-0 lead. The Bulldogs were determined to establish themselves inside early, but Harvard’s defenders proved capable of walling up on an island and not fouling. This prevented Yale from getting good looks from beyond the arc off of kickouts.

Disciplined defense in the post, combined with effort and anticipation by the perimeter defenders, prevented the Bulldogs from getting hot from three. Particularly, Yale junior guard Trevor Mullin, who terrorized the Crimson with 21 points on five-of-eight shooting from behind the arc, was kept quiet, scoring only three points in the first half.

Offensively, Harvard leaned on junior forward Thomas Batties II in the first half. Batties II, one of the hottest shooters in the Ivy League, tallied 10 points in the first half. Sophomore guard Robert Hinton was quiet in the first half after pouring in 26 points in the two first rivalry matchup.

The Crimson benefited from strong minutes by freshman guard Frankie Mannino. Mannino’s energetic style of basketball was tailormade for intense, rivalry basketball.

Harvard led for the entire first half, with the lead peaking at 11 with around four minutes left in the half. The Crimson dominated the minutes that Bulldog forward Nick Townsend, the team’s leader in points, rebounds, assists, and steals, was on the bench. But a late charge by Yale cut the lead to four at halftime.

Townsend left the game early in the second half after being elbowed in the head by Batties II while pursuing a rebound.

Despite losing their leader early in the half, the Bulldogs carried over their momentum from before half. Yale nearly tied the game after sophomore guard Jordan Brathwaite nailed a triple to make the score 36-35.

Harvard responded with an Eisendrath layup and sophomore guard Tey Barbour three to push the lead back to six, but another Bulldog charge was imminent.

This time, the charge would be enough to claim Yale their first lead of the game at 50-49 off of a jumper by sophomore forward Riley Fox, who comes off the bench but is the team’s third leading scorer.

Batties II responded with an and-one layup to reclaim the lead, but could not add the free throw. A block by Eisendrath ran to a breakaway slam for Hinton that brought a packed Lavietes Pavilion to its feet.

After a few minutes of back-and-forth basketball, Batties II once again brought the crowd to its feet with an and-one three from well behind the line with 4:34 left in regulation, giving Harvard a 61-58 lead. This marked the second Bulldog lead, and the second time it had been immediately snatched back by a Batties II and-one.

Four straight points by Yale senior guard Casey Simmons reclaimed the lead for the Bulldogs as the lead continued to seesaw.

Batties II came up clutch again for the Crimson with just under two minutes remaining, drilling his fourth three of the game on a third chance opportunity.

With just under a minute to go, Yale possessed the ball and called a timeout with the score knotted at 66.

Harvard got the stop that it needed, narrowly surviving a tip-in by Simmons, and took possession with just 38 seconds remaining. The Crimson went one high and four low before sprinting Batties II into a screen for Hinton with the ball. Hinton attempted a pull up but was no good, giving the Bulldogs the ball with five seconds left.

The Bulldogs called timeout before trusting Mullin with the ball. Mullin got a step on Eisendrath but was unable to finish at full speed, sending the game to overtime.

Eisendrath and Simmons traded strong takes to the basket to open the bonus basketball. A tough Hinton fadeaway over the lengthy Simmons, who was the number one ranked recruit in Mass. as a high schooler, gave Harvard a 70-68 lead, but it was snatched back by a Brathwaite stepback three.

Captain Chandler Piggé, an active Crimson editor and regular stat sheet stuffer, took the lead right back with a strong take. Brathwaite continued his hot night with another three, but he was matched by an and-one by Barbour.

Back under a minute on the game clock, the Crimson owned a one point advantage at 75-74. After a lengthy review of an Eisendrath block, Yale was awarded the ball. Eisendrath, unsatisfied with the call, immediately deflected the inbounds pass, resulting in a tie-up, and Harvard ball.

Strong defense by the Bulldogs prevented the Crimson from adding to its one point lead, and gave Yale another last second opportunity. After multiple dribble handoffs, Brathwaite attempted a stepback but was unsuccessful. However, Yale sophomore forward Isaac Celiscar secured the rebound and went back up for a wild second chance look. The refs controversially tacked Piggé with a foul,much to the dismay of the crowd, and Celiscar nailed both free throws, giving the Bulldogs a 76-75 lead with 0.5 seconds left.

The wily Amaker attempted an old basketball trick play designed to get a technical on the opposing team, but Yale was smart and avoided his trap. Ultimately, Harvard was forced to attempt the old Laettner pass, but it was batted away, ending the game.

Despite the loss, Batties and Eisendrath had exceptional performances.

Batties had 23 points on efficient 9-15 field goal shooting, and brought down seven rebounds. Time after time, the Washington D.C. native elevated and knocked down big midranges and three-pointers from the left edge.

Eisendrath, meanwhile, was a force on defense. With three steals and two blocks, he held Mullin to just eight points. He also chipped in 13 points for good measure.

“Outstanding,” said Amaker regarding Eisendrath’s performance. “He was absolutely outstanding, and I’m very proud of him.”

“He’s our best on-ball defender, and he creates havoc out there and that really energizes our team,” added Amaker.

Harvard will look to get back in the winning column next week, when they travel to Ithaca, N.Y. — the host city of this season’s Ivy Madness tournament — to take on Cornell (5-5, 12-11) at 2 PM EST. The Crimson has won its last five road games.

– Staff writer Reed M. Trimble can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ReedTrimble1. Follow @THCSports for all of The Crimson’s sports coverage.

– Staff writer Samuel Rudavsky can be reached at [email protected]. Follow @THCSports for all of The Crimson’s sports coverage.