DURHAM, N.H. – As Tommy Amaker watched one of Harvard’s 13 first-half turnovers fly past his head Sunday afternoon, he resisted the urge to admonish the guilty party. Instead, he kept his gaze on the next play, not even acknowledging the mistake.
That’s not to say Amaker wasn’t angry about it. It was as tough for him to watch as anyone. But Amaker knows this might not be a team like the Harvard squads that went to four straight NCAA Tournaments (winning two games) or even one of his 10 teams in an 11-year span earlier in the century that posted double-digit wins in the Ivy League.
Amaker has a young team, a freshman point guard (and three freshman starters Sunday), and patience is key. He wasn’t able to work out all the flaws at halftime, as the Crimson finished with 19 turnovers, but they did enough down the stretch to gut out a 72-62 win over New Hampshire at Lundholm Gym. That’s a step forward for the Crimson after they lost seven of their last eight contests.