While the Ivy League is known for its close games, Saturday afternoon’s matchup at Lavietes Pavilion was an exception as Harvard cruised to a 73-51 victory over Columbia.
The win moves the Crimson (11-7, 2-2 Ivy) into a four-way tie for second place, while the defeat sends the Lions (6-13, 1-3) into a two-way tie with Yale for the bottom slot in the conference.
Despite being outplayed on both sides of the ball, Columbia still kept the contest within single digits, 24-16, at the six-minute mark of the opening frame. Harvard effectively put the game away with a 12-2 run through the rest of the half, including keeping the Lions off the scoreboard for the last four minutes.
Unsurprisingly, the Crimson, which entered the game 70th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, held Columbia to 13% (1-for-8) from three and 30% (6-for-20) from two over the opening twenty minutes. They also controlled the class, outrebounding the Lions by 21 (31-10) and 23%.
The big surprise for the home team, however, was the outside shooting.
Harvard started the day 359th in three-point shooting at 26.5% but managed to go 7-for-15 (47%) from deep in the first half, including a 3-for-3 effort by senior forward Chris Ledlum.
Things wouldn’t work out much better in the second half for the Lions, as they could only cut the deficit to a low of 15 points around the 14 minute-mark.
Ledlum, the league’s second-leading scorer and top rebounder, finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. The Brooklyn native added four assists, two steals and a block in yet another stat-stuffing performance from one of the conference’s top all-around talents.
Shooting guard Idan Tretout, who recently returned to the starting lineup, and forward Justice Ajogbor gave some help to the typically overworked Ledlum by adding 11 and 10 points, respectively. Ajogbor also contributed nine rebounds, two assists and a game-high four blocks.
If these two can put up these types of numbers on a consistent basis, the Crimson’s chances to return to Ivy Madness will greatly improve.
For a team that shot 28% on the day and got outrebounded by 26, it was tough to find positives for Columbia. The biggest positives were the 14-for-16 (88%) at the free throw line and shooting guard Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa’s 15 second-half points.
Harvard next faces Dartmouth (6-12, 2-2) at Lavietes Pavilion on Monday afternoon, for the second of a three-game homestand. The Crimson will be looking to win consecutive games for the first time since they strung together four consecutive victories in late November.
The Lions, losers of three straight since their New Year’s Eve upset over Yale, will try to change things around when they host first-place Cornell (13-4, 3-1) that same day.