Cusworth Ends Career With Milestone, Victory
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Brian Cusworth’s career at Harvard ended the way he wanted it to – with a Crimson win. The only blemish is that he wasn’t on the court at the end to celebrate it.
The Crimson held off a late barrage of three-pointers by Brown for a 92-88 win. Cusworth fouled out with 1:34 left and the game seemingly in hand after scoring 19 points on 7-8 shooting, grabbing six rebounds and blocking three shots.
Harvard led throughout the game, but never really put away the Bears, who saw five players foul out. They led by 14 in the first half at one point, as the Bears couldn’t stop them and they consistently broke through the 1-3-1 halfcourt trap to get easy baskets. That changed in the second, when the Crimson committed eight of their 15 turnovers and the Bears cashed them in for 14 points.
“We weren’t getting as many misses, so we weren’t in transition as much,” Harvard head coach Frank Sullivan said. “We couldn’t go at them and flatten them in transition. We lost our comfort zone against it, basically.”
Around the midpoint of the second half, the Bears rallied to within four on two occasions, but the Crimson had answers and eventually pushed the lead back into double digits, leading 74-63 at one point. They still led by ten with 57 seconds left, but the Bears came back with five straight points in 19 seconds, then got within three on a three-pointer by freshman Colin Aldridge with 29 seconds left. Brad Unger helped finish the game off with three free throws in the closing seconds.
“It was good to see the guys in at the end of the game finish the game without him,” said Sullivan.
Jim Goffredo led Harvard with 20 points after reaching double figures just once in the previous four games. Evan Harris, one player who will have to step up with Cusworth having finished his eligibility, added 18 points.
Cusworth’s situation came as a result of an injury during his sophomore year and Harvard’s unique rule of having to finish the coursework in eight semesters or less. He was injured at the beginning of his sophomore year and withdrew after the first semester. After playing all of last season, he had one semester of eligibility left. The most practical thing to do was to play the first semester, which had 18 games on the schedule; the second semester has just ten. Additionally, in playing the first semester, he was able to practice with the team from the beginning, which he would not have been able to do otherwise.
Cusworth surpassed 1,000 career points the night before, finishing his career with 1,042. In the 18 games, he averaged 17.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. He shot 51.5 percent from the field, a number that took a drop starting in December after partially tearing a ligament in his right (shooting) middle finger, still playing with that right to the end.
The Crimson must play the bulk of the Ivy League schedule without their best player, and with a young team remaining. That would be a major adjustment for any team to make.
“We have to guard,” said Sullivan of what they have to do to win from here on. “Our defense is not where it has to be. We’re not getting enough steals, our field goal defense is not overall where it needs to be to win in our league. Globally, our team defense has to improve dramatically. Even if Brian was here, that would be the case.”
Sullivan is happy with Harris’ progress, and he’ll be needed more than ever. They’ll also need role players like Unger and Brian Darcy to step up in the frontcourt, which is hurt more by the absence of Kenyon Churchwell as he is suspected of having a heart condition. The departing big man, who received an invite to the Portsmouth Invitational earlier in the week, is confident in what the team has remaining.
“They pulled off a tough one without me. I think that’s a good sign for what’s to come,” said Cusworth, who is headed back to St. Louis to work out in the interim.
Other Notable Games
North Carolina 92, Arizona 64: Look at this as a sign of just how good the Tar Heels can potentially be. Not everyone can put up a 28-point blowout at Arizona, even though the Wildcats have now lost four of five.
Georgetown 82, Cincinnati 67: Roy Hibbert’s double-double (26 points, 11 rebounds) helps the Hoyas stay right in the mix near the top of the Big East as they have now won four straight.
Ohio State 66, Michigan State 64: The Buckeyes had to hold on for this one, as the Spartans made a gallant effort to come back after being down 20 at halftime. Drew Neitzel did everything he could, scoring 24 of his game-high 29 points (and out of the Spartans’ 41 points) in the second half.
Indiana 76, Michigan 61: The Hoosiers bounce back from the loss at Illinois with this home win.
Arkansas 63, Alabama 57: The Razorbacks sweep the season series and move into a tie atop the SEC West – with a 3-4 SEC mark.
Oregon 77, Washington State 74 (OT): The Ducks salvage one game out of their trip north. Aaron Brooks’ return clearly made a difference, as he led the way with 31 points.
Vanderbilt 85, Mississippi 79: The Commodores have now won four straight and are right there in the mix for second to Florida – their next opponent, on Wednesday in Gainesville – in the SEC East.
Southern Illinois 73, Illinois State 62: Jamaal Tatum’s 22 points helps the Salukis keep pace with Creighton in the race for the top of the Missouri Valley.
Providence 84, Connecticut 72: The Friars get their first road win of the season and bounce back from Tuesday’s home loss. Meanwhile, the Huskies have now lost four straight.
VCU 75, Drexel 68: VCU becomes the second team in CAA history to start the season with ten consecutive wins in conference play, as the 1985-86 Richmond team won their first 11. The Rams improve to 18-3 overall and 9-0 on the road.
Memphis 67, Southern Miss 64: This game was nearly a monumental upset, as the Tigers had to rally late after being down six with over six minutes to go.
Brigham Young 61, Air Force 52: The Cougars know how to win at home – this is their 27th straight home win. This win makes the Mountain West a little more interesting, as they are now a half game behind the Falcons and even in the loss column.
UNLV 76, New Mexico 72 (OT): Also right on the Falcons’ heels in the Mountain West are the Runnin’ Rebels, winners of four straight with two road games ahead.
Wichita State 66, Evansville 61: Two straight for the Shockers as they climb within one game of .500 in Missouri Valley play.
Drake 74, Northern Iowa 61: A game the Bulldogs needed to win as they start a three-game homestand that could help them get some momentum again.
Purdue 64, Illinois 47: The Illini continue to struggle ever since winning their first seven games of the season, as they are 8-8 since then and 3-5 in Big Ten play with another road loss.
Missouri 71, Texas Tech 58: The Tigers finally get their first Big 12 win after losing several close ones that could have gone either way.
Rutgers 74, Seton Hall 70 (2 OT): The New Jersey holy war has another classic, with the home team winning both games this season.
George Washington 82, Rhode Island 78: The Colonials take over the top of the Atlantic 10 with this road win behind 27 points from Maureece Rice.
Xavier 83, Dayton 67: The Musketeers are quietly right there in the Atlantic 10 race, getting a good win here.
Fordham 62, La Salle 54: The Rams have won four straight and are quietly a game back in the Atlantic 10 at 5-2, getting 20 points from Marcus Stout in this road win.
George Mason 59, James Madison 41: The Patriots bounce back from Wednesday’s home loss to VCU and have now won six of seven.
Wright State 59, Loyola (Ill.) 47: The Raiders stay right on Butler’s heels in the Horizon League, as they are a half game behind the Bulldogs.
Bucknell 74, Army 49: The Bison stay a game behind Holy Cross in the Patriot League.
Austin Peay 66, Samford 48: Quietly, the Governors have run off ten straight and are a game and a half up on Samford in the Ohio Valley.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 78, Texas-San Antonio 63: The Islanders have now won nine straight heading into a showdown with Stephen F. Austin, which is a half game behind them in the Southland West Division.
