Harvard post wire-to-wire win over Saint Joseph’s

FULLERTON, Calif., November 24, 2017 – Led by a pair of 20-point performances, Harvard defeated Saint Joseph’s, 77-71, in game two on day two of The Wooden Legacy.

Sophomores Chris Lewis and Bryce Aiken both put up 21-point performances to lead the Crimson to victory. Lewis also finished one rebound shy of a double-double while Aiken had a game-high eight assists in his second consecutive 20-point performance. Sophomore Robert Baker finished the game with his first career double-double at 14 points and 11 rebounds to round out the Crimson double-figure scorers.

Saint Joseph’s had three players finish in double-figures led by senior James Demery’s double-double performance as he put up 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Redshirt sophomore Pierfrancisco Oliva contributed 16 points and eight rebounds in the effort while freshman Taylor Funk finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Harvard led the way from the start going on a 16-2 scoring run after their first possession and they never looked back. With 10 minutes gone in the first the Crimson had their largest lead of the game at 14 points. From there, the Hawks tried to battle their way back into it, but their offensive struggled shooting just 8-30 (26.7%) from the field in the first half.

Saint Joseph’s would pick it up in the second half shooting 45.2% from the field, but they couldn’t stop the Harvard offense which shot 48.3% in the half. The Hawks had the deficit cut down to just one point several times down the stretch, but they could not get a defensive stop when they needed it. In the end, Aiken’s 14 second-half points and Lewis’ 13 helped put the game on ice for Harvard as they held on for the win.