By CHRIS RUSSELL
NEW YORK — After surrendering a stunning defeat to Cornell on Friday, Harvard entered Saturday’s contest in need of a victory against Columbia in Levien Gym.
With little time to recover from Friday’s defeat, Harvard came out of the gates on fire, shooting 65 percent from the field in the first half. Harvard continued its hot shooting, eventually pulling away the Lions, 80-70.
“We wanted to come out and feel better about our performance,” said Harvard guard Wesley Saunders, who went for 21 points and five assists. “We know that last night against Cornell, we didn’t feel well about the way we played. We just wanted to come out tonight and regroup and make a statement.”
Cameroonian native Steve Moundou –Missi poured in 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Harvard, and guard Corbin Miller scored 14 on 5-for-7 shooting, providing solid production off the bench.
With the crucial victory against the Lions, the Crimson have won at least 20 games for six consecutive years and remain atop of the Ivy League standings alongside Yale (which defeated Penn 55-50), who they will face next Friday.
“It’s going to be another battle,” said Saunders. “Whenever Yale and us get together it’s going to be a brawl, so we just have to come out focused and be ready for whatever they throw at us. We’ll have to have a great week of preparation and hopefully be able to come out on a positive note.”
Having made the NCAA Tournament the last three years, Harvard could make some noise in this year’s field of play, should they make it in.
“Absolutely,” Columbia head coach Kyle Smith told SNY.tv. “They have won games the last two years, they have size, they have length, and they are very good defensively.”
As for Columbia, it was talented junior guard Maodo Lo who kept the Lions within striking distance on a sold out Senior Night. The Berlin, Germany native finished with a career-high 33 points on 13-for-21 shooting in 39 minutes of action.
“He’s a silent assassin,” said Saunders of Lo.
In their first meeting, Harvard held on to a 72-68 victory in a game where Lo pushed the Crimson to the brink of defeat. Crimson head coach Tommy Amaker did not forget the explosive player that Lo is.
“Lo is an absolute game-changer kind of player,” said Amaker. “Real difference-maker in all the things he can do, find the guys, make the big shots.”
With the defeat, Columbia has now lost the last 11 of 12 games against Harvard.
Next up for Columbia will be a trek to Penn on Friday.
