NEW HAVEN - Memo to the rest of the Ivy League: If you want to take a run at Harvard this season, you better bring your “A’’ game, and a whole lot more.
Tommy Amaker’s Crimson were all business last night for their annual trip to Yale, taking on a team that came into the game as a co-leader in the Ivy. And Harvard hadn’t forgotten a loss at the buzzer to the Bulldogs last season that eventually cost the Crimson an outright league title.
Harvard (17-2, 3-0) has limited its opponent to fewer than 50 points 10 times this season and allowed under 40 in each of the last two games, including last night’s 65-35 win, the worst beating Harvard has ever given Yale in basketball.
The Crimson did it not only with defense, but with a bench that again came up with a solid effort when the starters faltered early.
Throw in the long-range shooting of Laurent Rivard, who led the Crimson with 18 points, and you had a performance that drew nothing but praise from Amaker.
“It was a great effort by our entire team,’’ he said. “Our defense was outstanding. They had to be, with their scorers. Again the key for us is bench and our balance. I like how our team is playing right now.’’
The Crimson had to deal with the crowd at a sold-out John J. Lee Amphitheater. The building was the site of the Crimson’s two most disappointing losses last season - a 70-69 setback to Yale and a 63-62 heartbreaker to Princeton in the Ivy League playoff.
The Crimson actually trailed for an instant (12-11), but then spurted to a 30-19 halftime lead and never blinked in the second half.
“We never got in a rhythm offensively,’’ said Yale coach James Jones, whose team dropped to 12-5, 2-1.
The undersized Crimson also had to deal with Yale’s combination of 6-foot-10-inch Greg Mangano and 6-10 Jeremiah Kreisberg, which provided extra incentive for Harvard forwards Keith Wright and Kyle Casey.
“It’s embarrassing,’’ said Mangano, who scored 17 points but was limited to four rebounds. “I don’t think we were prepared for how physical they were. This is just unacceptable.’’
With a bench that deep - freshman Steve Moundou-Missi was outstanding with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals - a defense that can take any team apart, and an attitude that exudes confidence, Harvard has few visible weaknesses.
“They cost us a bid to the NCAA Tournament last year,’’ said Rivard. “Coach made sure we came into this one motivated. We thought a little bit about Princeton and we thought a lot about Yale that we lost that close one. We made that the focus of what we did.’’
The Crimson settled the score with Yale and earned a dominating victory in a building that cost them so much a year ago.
When asked if he got an extra boost from winning in New Haven, Amaker smiled and said simply, “Yes.’’
