Kyle Casey scored a game-high 15 points and Tournament Most Valuable Player Keith Wright chipped in 12 of his own to lead Harvard past Central Florida, 59-49, in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Saturday.
The unbeaten Crimson (6-0) jumped out to an early 8-1 advantage over the Knights, and never trailed as they cruised to victory and completed the difficult task of winning three games in three days.
After being down 15 at halftime, UCF brought the deficit down to 10 midway through the second half, but the Knights could only get it to nine with under a minute to go as Harvard finished them off.
UCF committed just five turnovers in the game, but it was its shooting performance that was the ultimate backbreaker in the championship game.
The Knights – who upset No. 4 Connecticut on Friday – shot just 33 percent from the floor, going 20-for-60, and were just as dismal from the free throw line, as they went 8-for-23 from the stripe.
Harvard dominated play over its three-game schedule in the Bahamas. The Crimson led for 119 of the 120 minutes they played during the tournament and also did not let any opponent score more than 49 points in a game.
Harvard opened play by beating Utah, 75-47, in the first round on Thanksgiving and then upsetting No. 22 Florida State, 46-41, on Friday before claiming the title on Saturday. At 6-0, the Crimson are off to their best start since 1984-85.
UConn claims 3rd place
In a matchup that some anticipated to be the championship game at the beginning of the tournament, No. 4 Connecticut defeated No. 22 Florida State,78-76, in an overtime thriller on Saturday in the third place game.
With seven seconds remaining in regulation and the Huskies down by three, freshman Ryan Boatwright – playing in his first collegiate game – was fouled on a 3-point attempt that put him on the line with a chance to tie the score.
He sank all three shots, knotting the game at 71 and sending the game to overtime where his backcourt partner, Shabazz Napier, took over.
Napier – one day after committing seven turnovers and going 1-for-7 in the Huskies’ loss to UCF – scored 26 points, including the decisive 3-pointer with 1:08 left in overtime to give UConn the edge. He also added five assists, four rebounds and two steals in his bounce back effort.
Down by 10 with less than 11 minutes to go, the Seminoles stormed back to tie the game at 65 with 4:33 left on a Xavier Gibson 3-pointer.
In the final minute of the overtime period, Luke Loucks missed a 3-pointer and two free throws for FSU that would have tied the game after Napier’s 3-pointer. Michael Snaer misfired on a 3 at the buzzer and the Huskies escaped with the win.
Like father, like son
In a performance reminiscent of his father’s playing days in Chicago, Marcus Jordan fueled a strong second half comeback for UCF to top UConn and snap the Huskies’ 16-game winning streak dating back to last season.
Jordan, son of basketball legend Michael Jordan, scored 20 points – including two clutch free throws with 30 seconds remaining that sealed the victory – to help the Knights to the 68-63 win in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
UConn seemed to be in control when it stretched a nine-point halftime lead to 17 with less than 16 minutes remaining in regulation. But the defending national champions turned the ball over eight times and posted a 28.6 percent shooting effort over the final 15:38 seconds, which the Knights took advantage of.
With the efforts of Jordan and Keith Clanton – who also scored 20 in the win – UCF stormed to a 35-13 run over that span, which included the team going 3-for-6 from beyond the arc and 10-for-12 from the free throw line.
Down five with seven minutes to go, the Knights went on a 10-0 run to go ahead by five, and six foul shots from Jordan in the closing minutes sealed the Huskies’ fate as UCF successfully knocked off the tournament favorite.
Stephen Hewitt can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Hewitt.