3 takeaways from Brown's costly loss to Ivy foe Harvard

PROVIDENCE — Brown started the second half of its Ivy League schedule the same way it suffered through much of the first.

The Bears were colder than the miserable weather outside during the opening 20 minutes against Harvard and never recovered.

The result was a rather easy 65-50 triumph for the Crimson at the Pizzitola Center, one that further closed the door on Brown’s chances to reach the postseason in March.

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Victories elsewhere by Yale, Penn and Cornell left the Bears with an even more severe uphill climb than they faced to start the evening. Brown is now three games behind Harvard and the Big Red in the race for the fourth spot in the standings. The Bears have just six games remaining to make up that ground, the next coming on Saturday against Dartmouth.

“We’re trying to figure it out,” Brown coach Mike Martin said. “I don’t have a solution right now for what’s causing us to start games like we have. Clearly, in this league against good teams, we can’t dig ourselves the holes that we’re digging.”

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The Crimson ran into halftime with a 21-point cushion and never allowed Brown within 12 the rest of the way. Luka Sakota led four in double figures with a game-high 18 points and Harvard finished a tick shy of 50% from the field at 25-for-51. The Crimson earned a split in the season series after suffering an 84-73 home loss on Jan. 7.

“I know it’s not a lack of talent,” Martin said. “It’s not lack of effort. I can’t pinpoint it — we're trying.

“I just said to the guys downstairs I’ve been fortunate to coach a lot of great kids and teams — I’ve enjoyed coaching here at Brown. This one is at the top of the list. I love coaching these guys. And we’re going through some adversity.”

What might the Bears look to correct ahead of a visit from the Big Green? Let’s review.

Too many scoreless stretches

Paxson Wojcik notched the first two field goals of the game for Brown. What came between them was 17:29 of offensive misery.

The Bears had just two points to show for that period in the first half — a pair of Tamenang Choh free throws. They went scoreless for a 15:04 span and fell into a double-digit hole for good.

“They really set the tone early on defense,” Martin said. “They made it hard for us in the first half. And then when we got some good looks they didn’t go down.”

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Brown dragged a 29-8 deficit into the locker room thanks to 3-for-25 shooting. The Bears were shut out on 10 attempts from 3-point range and committed 10 turnovers. Brown’s second-half output in a 54-52 loss against Colorado was its previous low, as the Bears were limited to 22 points.

“The crowd wanted so badly for us to give them something to cheer about,” Martin said. “I appreciate them for coming out.”

Brown (10-13, 2-6 Ivy) needed just 2:43 in the second half to reach four field goals. The Bears missed just one of their first five attempts and had Harvard (11-7, 3-3) asking for a timeout after Wojcik nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing.

Harvard focused on Lilly, Choh

Brown finished 13-for-29 from 3-point range in the first meeting. The Crimson featured a little different game plan in the rematch.

Harvard overplayed Kino Lilly Jr. on the perimeter and prevented Choh from slicing his way through the paint. Those two Bears enjoyed strong nights in Boston a month ago — Lilly poured in 23 points on 5-for-8 from deep and Choh netted 17 of his 20 points in the second half.

Lilly led Brown in scoring again, but this time he required 16 shots to put up 14 points. Choh was just 1-for-10 from the field and committed six turnovers against his six assists. Jaylan Gainey was the lone member of the Bears to post an impactful offensive line, collecting 13 points and 13 rebounds.

“They were locked in on (Choh),” Martin said. “They made things really difficult for Kino. For a freshman, he’s so special — but we’re relying on him for too much.”

Four starters finished with at least four field goals for the Crimson. Harvard still managed to find production despite missing standouts Iden Tretout and Chris Ledlum due to injury.

Missing pieces

This was Martin’s 255th game in charge at his alma mater, and Brown ultimately managed to avoid setting a new scoring low during his tenure.

The Bears suffered a 63-42 defeat at Northwestern in his 2012-13 debut season, a campaign in which they were held under 50 points four times in 28 games. Brown managed only 0.69 points per possession in a 2018-19 loss at the University of Rhode Island.

It was difficult to believe at times this was the same team that scored 50 points in the first half alone at North Carolina on Nov. 12. And in some ways it was not — Dan Friday (undisclosed injury) enjoyed a career night in that game and didn’t play in this one. Nana Owusu-Anane (undisclosed injury) also sat out.

“We were stagnant,” Martin said. “I didn’t love our pace early on.”

The Bears started 4-4 before winning four straight, including a 76-56 dismissal of Merrimack on Dec. 7. Brown is just 2-9 since taking care of the Warriors and suffered their second league defeat by double digits.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @BillKoch25

HARVARD (65): Catchings 5-6 3-6 14, Forbes 4-6 3-4 11, Kirkwood 4-10 2-2 11, Sakota 7-13 0-0 18, D.Wojcik 2-7 0-1 4, Lesmond 2-4 0-0 5, Silverstein 1-1 0-0 2, Freedman 0-2 0-0 0, Nelson 0-1 0-0 0, Ajogbor 0-1 0-0 0; totals 25-51 8-13 65. BROWN (50): Choh 1-10 4-5 6, Gainey 6-8 1-4 13, Lilly 5-16 0-0 14, Mitchell 1-3 0-0 2, P.Wojcik 3-7 0-0 7, Cowan 1-3 0-0 3, Ferrari 1-5 0-0 3, Cooley 1-2 0-0 2, Meren 0-0 0-0 0, Erold 0-0 0-0 0, Ndur 0-0 0-0 0; totals 19-54 5-9 50.

Halftime — Harvard 29-8. 3-Point Goals — Harvard 7-18 (Sakota 4-7, Catchings 1-2, Kirkwood 1-3, Lesmond 1-3, D.Wojcik 0-1, Freedman 0-2), Brown 7-27 (Lilly 4-10, Cowan 1-3, Ferrari 1-4, P.Wojcik 1-4, Cooley 0-1, Mitchell 0-2, Choh 0-3). Fouled Out — Mitchell. Rebounds — Harvard 32 (Catchings, Lesmond 7), Brown 29 (Gainey 13). Assists — Harvard 12 (Kirkwood, Sakota 4), Brown 13 (Choh 6). Total Fouls — Harvard 13, Brown 16. Records — Harvard 11-7, 3-3 Ivy League; Brown 10-13, 2-6. A — 651 (2,800).

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 3 takeaways from Brown Bears costly loss to Ivy foe Harvard Crimson