Boston University
3-6
Harvard
5-4
Harvard Edges Men's Basketball, 65-64
December 11, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 11, 2012
Box Score | Coach Jones' Postgame Comments
ALLSTON, Mass. - Junior D.J. Irving scored a game-high 24 points and classmate Dom Morris posted his fourth career double-double with 15 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, as the Boston University men's basketball team came up just short at Harvard, 65-64, on Tuesday night.
Hitting the game-winning jumper with five seconds remaining in regulation, the Crimson improves to 5-4, while the Terriers fall to 3-6 after dropping their fourth game of the season decided by three points or less. Marking the first one-point decision between the two rivals since 1999, the game featured 13 ties and 18 lead changes, including 11 in the second half.
Missing a contested jumper as the buzzer sounded, Irving finished 8-of-17 from the field and tied his personal best with four made 3-pointers. Morris shot 7-of-10 and added two blocks along with one steal. Freshman Maurice Watson Jr. was the third Terrier in double figures with 12 points and four assists.
Sealing the victory with the final made field goal of the contest, Siyani Chambers had a team-high 21 points along with a game-high five assists and three steals. Wesley Saunders contributed 16 points, while Christian Webster recorded 13 points along with a team-high five rebounds.
The teams battled back and forth in the first half with no one moving ahead by more than three until the final three minutes. With the score tied at 23-23, the Terriers went on a 7-0 spurt capped by freshman John Papale's 3-pointer at 1:44. Irving later nailed a jumper to answer Saunders layup with 30 seconds left to give BU the 32-25 advantage entering the locker room.
BU grabbed its largest lead of the game, 36-28, at 16:54 when sophomore Malik Thomas fed Morris for a layup. Harvard though cut the deficit in half on the ensuing possession when Chambers hit a trey and free throw. The four-point play ignited a 12-2 run that finished with Chambers hitting his third and final shot from behind the arc at 14:05.
With 12:06 remaining, Chambers found Kenyatta Smith for the dunk to give the Crimson its largest lead of the game, 45-41, but Morris came right back with a 3-pointer to pull BU within one. The teams went back and forth again with five lead changes taking place over the following eight minutes.
Morris moved around his defender to hit a layup at 3:53 to give BU the 60-57 lead and added another at 1:13 to tie the game, 62-62, following a 3-pointer by Webster and two made free throws by Smith.
On the following possession, Saunders drew contact from the Terriers and went 1-of-2 at the line with 46 seconds left in regulation. Unable to get near the basket, BU called a timeout with 30 seconds left to design a play.
Curling around a screen, Irving grabbed a pass and nailed a jumper to give the Terriers the 64-63 lead with 19 seconds remaining. Chambers brought the ball up the court for Harvard and created enough space to hit his seventh field goal of the game for the victory.
BU won both the turnover (15-12) and rebound battles (30-28) while shooting 49.1 percent from the field, but Harvard had the hot hand in the second half, shooting 7-of-9 from three and 14-of-22 overall. The Crimson finished 23-of-49 at 46.9 percent.
Concluding a three-game road trip, the Terriers will return to Case Gym on Sunday (Dec. 16) to host Quinnipiac with tip-off set for 1 p.m. One lucky fan at the game will win an airline voucher. Also, in conjunction with Toys for Tots, fans are encouraged to bring an unwrapped, unused toy to the game and receive half price admission.
