Harvard Bounces Back With 22 Point Win Over Florida Atlantic
Harvard made sure that Sunday’s loss to Holy Cross was a thing of the past with their 71-49 drubbing of Florida Atlantic on Thursday night. Wesley Saunders had a game-high 19 points while Harvard committed just 11 turnovers.
Florida Atlantic took an early 11-4 lead, but Harvard reeled off 17 unanswered points to take command of the game at 21-11. The lead continued to balloon thanks to 13 combined points from Evan Cummins and Kenyatta Smith. The Crimson held a 38-20 lead at the break thanks to 13 of 23 shooting from the field (56.5%) and hitting 12 of 13 free throws (92.3%). Cummins had 9 points and 5 rebounds in the first half while Steve Moundou-Missi chipped in 8 points. Saunders scored 7 points as well. Florida Atlantic went 9 of 27 from the field (33.3%) and 2 of 8 from beyond the arc (25%). Marquan Botley and Justin Massey were the top scorers for the Owls with 5 points each.
The second half was more of an even contest with both teams constantly trading buckets. Harvard kept pushing their lead to 20 points or more, but the Owls were determined not to let the game out of their reach. Justin Raffington’s dunk with 6:18 remaining prompted a timeout from Tommy Amaker and he made his point. Harvard went on an 8-0 run to effectively end the game and allowed only two field goals in the final 6 minutes. Massey added 12 points in the second half for the Owls, but they continued to struggle from the field. FAU went 12 of 30 in the second half (40%) and 2 of 9 from beyond the arc (22.2%). Wesley Saunders scored 12 points for the Crimson, as they went 15 of 31 in the second half (48.4%) and committed only 4 turnovers.
The Owls were led by Justin Massey with 17 points and Marquan Botley scored 12 points. They shot 21 of 57 from the field (36.8%) and were only 4 of 17 from beyond the arc (23.5%). FAU went 3 of 6 from the charity stripe and committed 13 turnovers while being out-rebounded 37-23.
The Crimson got the bulk of their production from Wesley Saunders (19 points and 6 assists), Steve Moundou-Missi (14 points and 6 rebounds), Kenyatta Smith (9 points and 5 rebounds), and Evan Cummins (9 points and 10 boards). The Crimson went 28 of 54 from the field (51.9%), but were just 1 of 8 on three pointers (12.5%). They hit 14 of 18 free throws (77.8%).
Florida Atlantic (1-2) will face the Georgia Bulldogs (1-1) in Athens on Sunday. Harvard (2-1) has a bit of a break with their next game on Tuesday at home against Houston (1-0).
Cornell Drops Opening Game In Gildan Charleston Classic To South Carolina
Despite a decent start, Cornell was outmatched for most of the game in their 69-45 loss to South Carolina on Thursday night. Cornell made only 14 field goals for the entire game.
Neither team started well, but Cornell took a two point lead out of the under 16 media timeout, but a cold streak sent them spiraling down. The Big Red went 0 for 9 and the Gamecocks scored the next 13 points to lead 22-11. It did not get much better after that stretch. South Carolina was able to take a 35-21 lead at halftime thanks to 13 points from Sindarius Thornwell. Cornell went 7 of 23 in the first half (30.4%), were 2 of 9 from three point range (22.2%), and committed 13 turnovers. South Carolina was a bit better at 12 of 33 shooting (36.4%) and 3 of 11 from three point land (27.3%).
The second half was dominated by South Carolina with the Gamecocks outscoring Cornell 34-24. Cornell continued to struggle from the field with only 24.1% of their shots falling (7 of 29 in the second half). The Gamecocks were better at 40% (10 of 25) and converted 9 of their 11 free throw attempts (81.8%).
JoJo Fallas led the Big Red with 11 points, all in the second half, while Galal Cancer contributed 10 points. Shonn Miller was held in check with 9 points on 2 of 6 shooting and fouled out. Devin Cherry scored 8 points and grabbed 5 boards, but also committed 7 turnovers. The Big Red went 14 of 52 from the field (26.9%), 5 of 20 from beyond the arc (25%), and hit 12 of 16 free throws (75%). They committed 17 turnovers in the game and were out-rebounded 44-32.
Sindarius Thornwell had 14 points with only one point coming in the final 20 minutes. He was helped out with a big game from Mindaugas Kacinas with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Laimonas Chatkevicius had 8 points and 7 boards, Justin McKie had 8 points, and Tyrone Johnson scored 7 points and brought down 5 rebounds. The Gamecocks were 22 of 58 from the field (37.9%) and 8 of 22 on three pointers (36.4%). They hit 17 of 21 free throws (81%) and had 11 turnovers.
Cornell (2-2) plays again on Friday against Penn State (2-1) in the Charleston Classic. South Carolina (2-1) will face Charlotte (2-0) in the same tournament on Friday.