NEW YORK (Interstat) — Harvard snapped Columbia’s strong start to Ivy League play with a decisive 79-54 men’s basketball victory on Saturday at Levien Gymnasium.

The Crimson led 38-29 at halftime and pulled away in the second half, holding the Lions to 25 points after the break. Thomas Batties led all scorers with 24 points for Harvard, adding five rebounds and four assists. Robert Hinton contributed 17 points for the Crimson.

The loss was just the fourth of the season for Columbia, which fell to 12-4. Harvard improved to .500 at 8-8. A crowd of 1,634 saw the result, which defied pregame expectations as Columbia had been a 6.5-point favorite.