Chris Gaston and Bryan Smith combined for 40 points as host Fordham held on for a 60-54 victory over No. 21 Harvard on Tuesday.

Smith, a freshman, finished with 22 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range and Gaston added 18 and nine rebounds for the Rams (7-6). Fordham trailed 27-24 at the half.

After Harvard (12-2) rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to tie the score at 50 with 3:28 left, Fordham responded with three free throws β€” one by Gaston and two by Branden Frazier β€” before Smith put the game away on the Rams' ensuing possession.

Smith, who had 17 points in the second half, buried a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to push the Fordham lead to 56-51.

The Rams converted 4-of-4 free throw attempts down the stretch to close out the victory, its sixth at home in seven tries.

Brandyn Curry had a team-high 15 points for the Crimson, who lost for the first time since a 67-53 defeat to then-No. 9 Connecticut on Dec. 8. Keith Wright finished with eight points and 11 rebounds and Oliver McNally added nine points for Harvard, which shot 36 percent from the field, including 8-of-30 from 3-point range.

Fordham trailed 34-32 with 15:32 remaining, but then used a 12-0 run β€” capped by Gaston’s layup β€” to build a 44-34 advantage with 12:19 left.