CAMBRIDGE, MA – Perennial Ivy League contender Harvard created 24 points off 20 turnovers to defeat Siena Basketball 69-59 at Lavietes Pavilion. The Crimson shot 71% (29-41) on two-point attempts, as they scored 52 of their 69 points in the paint.
 
Freshman Chisom Okpara, who totaled 22 points over his first four collegiate games, erupted for 24 points and eight rebounds in his first collegiate start for Harvard (4-1). Chris Ledlum, whom Okpara replaced in the starting lineup, added 18 points off the bench as the duo combined for 42 points on 18-24 (67%) shooting. Sam Silverstein chipped in 13 points and five of the 15 total steals for the Crimson which shot 59% overall as a team.
 
Andrew Platek posted his third straight Siena (2-2) career-high tying 15-point performance, while Jackson Stormo scored 12 points and pulled down six rebounds.
 
The Saints started hot, scoring 11 of the first 13 points, but Harvard responded with the next nine to quickly erase the deficit and kickstart a 33-13 run. The Crimson led 35-27 at the break.
 
Siena rallied back within as close as two on several occasions in the second half, the final of which made it a 45-43 game with 10:35 remaining. But Harvard connected on each of its next eight shot attempts to ignite a decisive 16-4 run to open up at 14-point cushion at 61-47 with 5:24 to go. The Saints never got any closer than eight the rest of the way.
 
Siena, which came in averaging 81.3 points over its first three games while ranking fourth nationally in three-point percentage (47.5%), was limited to just 59 points on only 5-21 (24%) from distance. Harvard handcuffed reigning MAAC Player of the Week Javian McCollum, who came in averaging 20.3 points, to just a pair of foul shots in the waning seconds.
 
After playing their first four games over a 14-day span, Siena heads to the Sunshine State for Thanksgiving Week to compete in three games in four days against high-major competition in the prestigious ESPN Events Invitational. The Saints open vs. ACC foe Florida State at 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning in a nationally televised matchup on ESPN2 from the State Farm Field House in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.