INDIANAPOLIS — Aided by a 14-2 run in the second-half, Indiana men’s basketball defeated Harvard University 89-76 Sunday night. Three Hoosiers scored in double-figures, with sophomore center Kel’el Ware tallying a team-high 28 points.
Freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako was at the forefront of a strong offensive start for Indiana. Mgbako posted 7 points in the first four minutes as the Hoosiers took a 13-10 lead at the under-16-minute timeout.
Still, Harvard extinguished the Hoosiers’ hot start with a quick 3-point barrage of its own. Sophomore forward Chisom Okpara drained a pair of early 3-pointers , and freshman forward Thomas Batties II knocked down a triple to knot the game at 15 apiece.
Roughly a minute later, Batties stepped into a wide-open jumper from deep to put the Crimson ahead by 4. But with Mgbako and the Hoosiers’ starting unit back on the floor, Indiana rattled off a 9-0 run — punctuated by a ferocious slam from Ware — to gain a 27-24 advantage with a little over seven minutes remaining in the half.
Tied at 31 with just under four minutes left in the period, senior guard Xavier Johnson converted a nifty and-one layup sequence to put the Hoosiers ahead by 3. Shortly after, Ware soared to collect an inbounds pass from Mgbako and flushed it through the hoop to cap a 7-0 Indiana run.
With under a minute remaining, Harvard junior guard Louis Lesmond knocked down a pair of triples on consecutive possessions to answer Indiana buckets, with the latter of the two coming in highly contested fashion.
Just before the buzzer sounded the conclusion of the half, freshman guard Malik Mack banked in a 3-pointer to give the Crimson a 40-39 halftime lead. Ware led both teams with 12 points at the break, but four separate Harvard players had 8 of their own.
Mack kicked off the scoring in the second half, firing a 3-pointer over senior guard Trey Galloway, but Indiana proceeded to score 6 unanswered points shortly thereafter to take a 47-45 lead.
Ware notched a triple to put the Hoosiers ahead by 5 roughly four minutes into the half, but Mack responded with a midrange jumper to cut the deficit to 3. Around a minute later, freshman guard Gabe Cupps ignited the crowd with a strong defensive sequence against Mack followed by a soaring rebound.
After a tough layup from Reneau, Mgbako followed a missed free throw with a converted and-one to put Indiana ahead 63-51 with just under 13 minutes to go. The putback and free throw capped off a 14-2 Hoosier run in a roughly four-minute span.
Harvard began to chip into the lead primarily due to Indiana’s suddenly ineffective offense. After failing to score for nearly four minutes, sophomore guard Kaleb Banks splashed a corner 3-pointer to end the drought.
Ware’s impressive outing continued. With 5:37 remaining, he dropped in a fadeaway jumper to put the Hoosiers up by 10. Then, about a minute later, he collected his own rebound on a missed layup and converted the second-chance opportunity.
Indiana retained a relatively comfortable lead for the remainder of the game. Ware notched 9 straight points, including another monstrous slam. The Hoosiers fended off Harvard’s late press to pull out the 89-76 win.
The Hoosiers moved to 5-1 on the season with the win and will next face Maryland on Friday at Assembly Hall. Tip is set for 7 p.m. with viewing available on Big Ten Network.
Follow reporters Will Foley (@foles24) and Matt Press (@MattPress23) and columnist Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
