The Crimson struggled at the line. Both Rogus and senior guard Elliott Prasse-Freeman missed the front end of one-and-ones, limiting Harvard’s chances from the stripe. The Crimson hit only five of its last eight free throws in the final 1:13, allowing Vermont to close within five points.

Up 19 in the second half, Harvard continued playing a fast-paced offense, rarely running the shot clock below 20 seconds.

“We weren’t playing disciplined basketball,” Prasse-Freeman said. “The way to keep a team down is to run the clock down on each possession.”

“We talked about taking the clock down, but didn’t do a good job,” Sullivan added. “We haven’t had lots of time to practice taking care of large leads.”

The Crimson had an outstanding game defensively, holding the Catamounts to under 38 percent shooting from the field.

“We’ve never had a field goal defense this low this late in a season,” Sullivan said.

—Staff writer Samuel C. Roddenberry can be reached at scrodden@fas.harvard.edu.