Senior guard Chandler Pigge matched his career high of 26 points to pace Harvard men’s basketball in an 81-71 victory over Columbia in front of a large contingent of family and friends at Lavietes Pavilion Friday evening.
“So grateful to be here on my Senior Night to be able to compete with these guys, one more time at Lavietes,” Pigge told Allison DeWitt of ESPN+ after the contest. “I’m so grateful to be here at Harvard. Shoutout to coach (Tommy) Amaker and the coaching staff for having me.”
Winning the final game of the regular season the Crimson to 17-11 on the year and 10-4 in the Ivy League, one half game behind first-place Yale. Despite being locked into the No. 2 seed for next week’s Ivy League Tournament in Ithaca, a Bulldogs loss to Princeton on Saturday would give Harvard a share of the Ancient Eight title for the first time since 2019.
The loss dropped the Lions to 16-12 overall and 5-9 in the conference. Columbia sits in seventh place, one-half game behind fifth-place Princeton and Dartmouth.
On the positive side for rookie head coach Kevin Hovde, his team showed marked improvement from the 12-15 (1-13 Ivy) team he inherited, and the program had their most wins since 2015-16, the final year of the Kyle Smith era.
With Harvard up 22-20, Pigge hit a three from the left baseline and followed that with a steal and slam to ignite a 11-4 run to open up a nine-point lead.
After a scoop-shot layup from Columbia senior guard Kenny Noland, sophomore guard Robert Hinton connected from a triple from the left elbow to make it 36-26.
Noland hit a deep triple, and senior forward Blair Thompson sank two free throws to cut the deficit to five with a little over a minute to go. The teams matched each other the rest of the half and the Crimson went into the break leading 38-33.
An old-fashioned three from sophomore guard Mason Ritter and an off-balance layup from Thompson tied the game at 38 just over a minute into the second half.
The teams had five more ties with the last happening at 61 with 6:47 left in regulation.
On the next possession, sophomore guard Tey Barbour connected on a triple from the right elbow to put Harvard back on top and spark a 14-4 run that opened up a 75-65 lead.
That stretch was highlighted by nine points from Barbour, as well as a block by 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Ben Eisendrath on 6-foot-7 first-year forward Connor Igoe and an old-fashioned Eisendrath three after completing a layup through a double team that sent him crashing to the floor.
The Lions trimmed the lead to six on two occasions in the final few minutes, but the Crimson didn’t let the game get any closer.
As the seconds ticked away, the crowd and several Harvard players urged Pigge to go for a career high, but the senior stayed in the backcourt to relish his final victory on his home court.
Pigge dominated the night, shooting 83.3% (10-for-12) from the field and 75% (3-for-4) from the free throw line, as well as posting seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The Crimson also got big-time performances from the rest of the main rotation players: Hinton (17 points, four rebounds, four assists), Barbour (14 points, all in the second half, and 10 rebounds), junior forward Thomas Batties II (14 points, eight rebounds, three blocks) and Eisendrath (five points, four rebounds, six assists, two blocks).
Thompson led the way for Columbia with 18 points and eight rebounds, while fellow senior Noland capped a tremendous season with 15 points, seven assists, three rebounds and three steals.
Igoe ended a strong rookie campaign with a 14-points, 10-rebound double-double, while guard Miles Franklin, the Lions’ other first-year standout, added 14 points.
Despite running out a smaller lineup and playing its core five players for 32 to 38 minutes, Harvard had an outstanding shooting night, making 62.1% (18-for-29) from two, 43.5% (10-for-23) from three and 83.3% (15-for-18) from the line.
The larger Columbia roster was able to corral 14 offensive rebounds, which led to 17 more field-goal attempts and 10 more second-chance points, but the tenacious Harvard defense limited the Lions to only four triples and 25% shooting from outside the arc (11.5% lower than their season rate against Division I opponents), 51% from inside the arc (2.5% lower) and 54.5% from the charity stripe (16.2% lower).
“They’re a very fast-paced team in the way they play in transition and their sets,” Pigge told ESPN+. “We had some tough stretches throughout the game, but ultimately, in the end, we relied on our identity of defending.”
Amaker’s squad has eight days to rest up for its semifinal matchup against No. 3 seed Penn, which beat the Crimson 64-61 at the Palestra last Saturday night.
Pigge and his team are in the right frame of mind as they head into their first Ivy League Tournament appearance since 2019. (Harvard did qualify for the 2020 conference tournament, but it was cancelled due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.)
“Use it (the win) as momentum. We know Ivy Madness is a whole different ball game,” the senior said. “We have some things that we have to clean up on, but we’re going to be ready to go next week.”