National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Harvard 57, Columbia 52
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 4, 2012
Where: Lavietes Pavilion, Boston, Massachusetts
Officials: # John Gill, # Bill Laubenstein, # Victor Thomas
Attendance: 2195

Laurent Rivard scored a game-high 20 points as No. 23 Harvard defeated visiting Columbia 57-52 on Saturday.

Harvard (20-2, 6-0 Ivy) extended its home win streak to 25 games, the fourth-longest streak in the nation. The Crimson also reached the 20-win mark for the third straight year.

Rivard, a sophomore guard, finished 5 for 11 from the field and 8 for 12 from the free throw line for the Crimson, who improved to 8-0 at home. Harvard hasn’t lost at Lavietes Pavilion since a 79-70 defeat to Cornell on Feb. 19, 2000.

The Lions (13-9, 2-4), who never trailed by more than seven, pulled within 53-50 on Brian Barbour’s layup with 27 seconds left. Barbour, a junior guard, finished with 15 points, the eighth straight game he’s scored at least 10.

From there, though, Harvard made 4 of 4 free throws down the stretch - including a pair by Rivard - to make it a two-possession game.

Keith Wright finished with 15 points and six rebounds and Brandyn Curry added 12 points for Harvard, which hasn’t allowed an Ivy League opponent to score more than 60 points.

Mark Cisco finished with eight points and five rebounds for the Lions, who lost for the sixth time in nine road games against the Crimson.

Harvard led 30-27 at the half.
Top Game Performances
 
Columbia   Harvard
Brian Barbour 15 Scoring Laurent Rivard 20
John Daniels 3 Assists Brandyn Curry 4
Blaise Staab 7 Rebounds Keith Wright 6
Brian Barbour 7 Free Throws Made Laurent Rivard 8
Blaise Staab 2 Steals Kyle Casey 1
Van Green 1 Blocks Kyle Casey 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Columbia 52 40.0 4-8 8-8 11 27 1 2
Harvard 57 43.2 4-12 21-32 10 25 5 2