Foul Play

After staying out of foul trouble for most of the first half, Harvard immediately worked its way into difficulty in the second.

Whistled for six infractions in the first 4:25, the Crimson backed away from the aggressive attempts to draw player control fouls it had utilized in the first half.

Three of the six were the result of blocking calls in a span of just 42 seconds, with juniors captain Jason Norman and guard Kevin Rogus responsible for two each.

“That first time out, everyone was talking about how you’ve got to stop this,” Sullivan said. “We couldn’t let the game continue in the single bonus or the double bonus. We did a good job with that. We got our wheels a little bit and relaxed.”

Though the threat of the free throws loomed large, Harvard managed to go the next 6:06 without drawing a foul while surrendering just eight points.

The last three of the Crimson’s early second-half fouls were blocking calls that came when Harvard was trying to draw a charge. All three came within 50 seconds.

“The charge factor has the bonus of getting us to the line, getting the opponents in foul trouble, getting us more possessions, so it’s something we’ve been emphasizing,” Sullivan said. “I think tonight guys were really ready to do that. Then, they were worried about how the game was being called, what was going to be a charge, what wasn’t going to be a charge. That’s the thing about the charge. It’s the highest judgment call in the game, so you never know. I think our guys have done an excellent job sacrificing their bodies to try get us extra possessions.”

Prior to the run of blocking calls, Harvard had drawn six player control fouls against the Crusaders.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.