Harvard basketball season brought to a close by the UNC Tar Heels

Harvard’s close loss to North Carolina ends an Ivy League championship year.

Siyani Chambers ’16 scored 13 points—including a go-ahead three-pointer and free throw with just over a minute remaining—in Harvard’s 67-65 loss to North Carolina.

Siyani Chambers ’16 scored 13 points—including a go-ahead three-pointer and free throw with just over a minute remaining—in Harvard’s 67-65 loss to North Carolina. | Photograph by Gil Talbot/courtesy of Harvard Athletic Communicationsmunications

A furious comeback by the Harvard men’s basketball team fell short Thursday evening as the Crimson lost to the heavily favored North Carolina Tar Heels 67-65 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Crimson trailed by 16 points with just over 15 minutes left before reeling off a 29-11 run to take a 65-63 lead with just over a minute to play. But the Tar Heels scored the next four points and held on to their 67-65 margin when Wesley Saunders ’15—who led all scorers with 26 points—held the ball at the top of the key and missed a possible game-winning three-pointer with time expiring. The Crimson, which captured its fifth consecutive Ivy League championship this year and reached its fourth straight NCAA tournament, finished the year 22-8 overall.

For the full report, see “Harvard, Heeled.”

Read more articles by David L. Tannenwald

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