RALEIGH – Sixth-seeded Harvard narrowly fell to No. 2 seed North Carolina State, 78-77, in the second round of the national Invitational Tournament (NIT) Sunday night in front of a sold out crowd at Reynolds Coliseum.
 
Harvard, which earned its first NIT win in program history on Wednesday over Georgetown, was led by Bryce Aiken and Noah Kirkwood, who each scored a game-high 19 points. Chris Lewis joined the pair in double-figures with 16 points on a perfect 7-of-7 night from the field. Lewis also blocked four shots, tying a career-high while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. 

The Wolfpack (24-11) jumped out to an early seven-point lead, 14-7, but Harvard fought back to tie the game at 28-28 with six minutes to go in the first half, and took its first lead moments later after a pair of free throws from Christian Juzang. Juzang added a layup in transition to close the opening half, giving the Crimson a 39-38 advantage at intermission. 

The lead changed hands 11 different times in the second half, but the Wolfpack pulled ahead for a five-point lead with under a minute to play. Undeterred, sophomore Rio Haskett knocked down a triple from the left wing with 27 seconds to go, and added another 3-pointer with three seconds left to pull Harvard within one. Following a timeout, the Wolfpack was able to run out the clock and secure the victory.

Harvard concludes the 2018-19 season with a 19-12 overall record. The Crimson claimed its seventh Ivy League Championship in the previous nine seasons. Harvard fell, 97-85, to Yale in the Ivy League Tournament Championship game before earning its first NIT win in program history and the first Ivy to do so since 2002.