Harvard 53 - 67 1Connecticut
Final
  for this game

No. 9 UConn hands No. 25 Harvard its first loss

Dec 9, 2011 - 4:56 AM Storrs, CT (Sports Network) - Jeremy Lamb scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and No. 9 Connecticut used its superior athleticism to hand 25th- ranked Harvard its first loss, 67-53.

Ranked for the first time in school history, Harvard trailed by just two at the break before shooting 1-for-12 from the floor in the first eight minutes of the second half.

UConn (8-1) built a 16-point lead as a result and held off the Crimson (8-1) for its third straight win since losing to UCF.

"I thought we defensively dominated them," Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun said. "Overall, a pretty good performance against a team that is going to win 25, 26, 27 games."

Andre Drummond and Ryan Boatright chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the win, while Kyle Casey led Harvard with 12 points.

Harvard, looking for its first win over UConn since 1972, were locked in a tie midway through the first half, 19-19, then shook off a 9-0 run by holding the Huskies off the scoreboard over the final five minutes.

The drought cut the Huskies' lead to 30-28 at the break, but they scored 17 of the first 20 points in the second half to pull away. Lamb started the flurry with a three-pointer and ended it with a jumper for a 47-31 cushion.

Harvard scored on its next three possessions and pulled within eight, 47-39, after Keith Wright made 1-of-2 from the free throw line with 10 minutes left.

The margin was down to seven, 58-51, when Casey drained a three-pointer with five minutes to play, but that's as close as the visitors got.

"I was pleased with the effort from our team. I felt we hung in there, the first 20 [minutes] for sure, and I think they took control in beginning of the second half," Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker said.

Game Notes

UConn has won 39 straight non-conference home games...Shabazz Napier chipped in nine points and seven assists for UConn, which shot 7-for-14 from three- point range...Wright totaled nine points on 3-of-10 shooting.






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