UNH came home empty-handed after a high-scoring first half, which had visiting fans hopeful for the Wildcats’ first win vs. Harvard since 2004. The tip-off seemed to be the only thing going Harvard’s way in the first 20 minutes. UNH was ahead on the scoreboard for all but 19 seconds of the entire half. Three-point shooting proved to be the difference in the first half, as the Wildcats made three of their first four attempts and jumped to a quick nine-point lead.
Harvard showed some fight, cutting the lead to just seven with about eight minutes to go in the half. Once again, UNH relied on its shots from beyond the arc to cut any of the home team’s momentum.
UNH junior guard, Jack Graham, hit a pivotal corner three to cap off a 13-3 run and give New Hampshire their largest lead of the half with just over two minutes before the break. The first half concluded with UNH gaining a 48-22 advantage. They went nine for 15 from three-point range, with Graham hitting all of his four shot attempts from deep. Harvard responded with only four three-pointers of their own throughout the first half.
To begin the second half, Harvard came out with a full-court press, which shifted the energy into the home team’s favor. Once Harvard started scoring, any UNH effort at slowing down their offense fell short. Harvard started the half with a crushing 17-2 run, which gave UNH Head Coach Nathan Davis no option but to call a timeout at just five and a half minutes into the half.
Coach Davis spoke after the game about the momentum shift at the beginning of the first half, “I think our defensive intensity went away at that point. (Their) next five possessions were five layups and a foul, and the next one was a stand-still open three. And (the lead) went from 20 to 8 like that,” Davis said.
The timeout slowed the game down, but not for long. Harvard forward Thomas Batties III drained a corner three to give Harvard their first lead of the half with 13 minutes to go. UNH’s R.J. Kennedy responded with three of his own, which spurred a short offensive push for the Wildcats.
After their timeout, they led by as much as eight, but the Crimson continued to fight back. With four and a half minutes to go, Harvard Guard Robert Hinton drew a foul. Then he got the layup to fall for a three-point play, which gave life to the home crowd. UNH struggled to get much offense going for any attempt at a comeback. Harvard handed the Wildcats their second loss in a game that saw UNH leading by as much as 20 points.
Coach Davis relayed the outlook the team will have to adopt to get back on track, “We obviously have a lot to work on. I think we’ve shown improvement since our first game in a number of ways, but there’s a long way to go. I’m very disappointed in the way we played in the second half and what we let happen. But it’s early, we have a chance to learn from it, and we have to make sure we’re better on Wednesday night,” Davis said.
UNH falls 1-2 to start the season, with their only win being their victory against Division three Curry College last Thursday. They will attempt to get back on track as they host a division two opponent, Emmanuel College, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
