But the ensuing PAT proved to be the Crimson’s final point of the game. From then on, Columbia was able to keep Harvard’s offense in check.

“I thought the defense played pretty good today,” Lions coach Norries Wilson said on Saturday. “Like I told them after the game, after I watch the tape, I might just drop the “pretty” and say they played good today. There were some tough situations, and the defense made a lot of stops today.”

And Columbia finally got on the board itself near the end of the third quarter when Brackett found Kurt Williams standing all alone in the endzone for a 36-yard strike.

“The touchdown was a missed assignment, which we’ve got to fix,” Zych said. “That can’t happen, but very correctable.”

The Lions’ trip to the endzone proved to be the final word on offense.

The game finished the way it started, with both teams failing to get on the board in the last frame.

But by the final whistle, one dominant quarter proved to be enough.

—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.edu.