Turnovers Plague Men's Basketball in 79-70 Loss to Cornell

Jeremy Lin hit seven shots from the floor and led Harvard with 24 points against the Big Red (photo courtesy of Mitchell Layton)

Harvard's Starting Five

Men's Basketball Free Throw Compilation

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Jeremy Lin led the Crimson with 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor, but the Harvard men’s basketball team fell to Cornell, 79-70, before a sold out Lavietes Pavilion Friday evening. Lin and Kyle Casey each hit 10-of-11 free throws for Harvard, which drops to 17-6 overall and 6-3 in the Ivy League. Cornell moves to 22-4 and 8-1 in the Ancient Eight.

Harvard finished the game with a season-high 32 free throws on 34 attempts, good for an 88.9 percent clip. The Crimson also hit 18-of-37 field goals, but the Big Red attempted 19 more shots, making 28.

The Crimson scored the first five points out of the gate, including three straight from the charity stripe by Casey after he was fouled from behind the arc. Harvard continued to shoot the ball well early, making six of its first nine shots, but the Crimson committed nine early turnovers, as Cornell went ahead, 26-19 with eight minutes left in the first half.

The Big Red upped its lead to 40-29 with two minutes remaining in the first half, but Lin converted a conventional three-point play after being fouled in the lane on a layup, cutting the deficit to eight points. The Crimson drilled 16 of 18 free throws in the first half, keeping Harvard within striking distance, as the Big Red held a 43-34 advantage entering halftime.

Lin and Cornell’s Ryan Wittman were the game’s leading scorers through the first 20 minutes, as each player had 16 points.

Cornell grew its lead to 17 with 12 minutes left, as Louis Dale hit a three to make it 61-44. Harvard returned the favor just seconds later as Brandyn Curry went up the court and drilled a three of his own. After Cornell was whistled for a technical foul, Lin buried two free throws, making it a 10-point game, 61-51. Harvard continued to cut away, as the run increased to 12-0 after Christian Webster hit a three from the left corner with 8:13 to play.

Harvard remained within 10 points until 3:55 to play when Wittman, who had a game-high 27 points, hit a long trey from the left side, putting the Big Red up 12.

Casey finished with six rebounds and 14 points, while Oliver McNally led all players off the bench with eight points.

The Crimson had an early edge in rebounds, 9-4, but Cornell dominated on the boards after that point, including a stretch of grabbing 25 of 34 rebounds.