Not only is coach Tommy Amaker’s team talented, it is deep, and in many cases, experience - or the lack of it - doesn’t matter.

The latest case in point came last night at the Palestra, when freshman guard Corbin Miller came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points, almost all of them in the clutch situations in the second half.

His biggest shot was a crucial free throw in the final seconds to help the Crimson seal a 56-50 victory over the Quakers.

“Coach talks about our bench and balance,’’ Miller said. “Coach tells us to stay ready, and we go in and play as hard as we can as long as we can.’’

The last time Miller was this big a factor was in a 54-38 romp at Dartmouth last month, when his 3-point shooting helped the Crimson coast.

There was nothing easy about the win over the Quakers. It was a battle at the start and it was a battle at the end.

Miller’s three 3-point shots were keys as the Crimson (21-2, 7-0 Ivy) slowly expanded a 28-23 halftime lead to 10 points with 7:23 left.

But Penn (12-11, 4-2) clawed its way back to where it was a one-possession game in the final minute.

With Harvard holding a 53-50 lead with 17.4 seconds left, the Crimson got the ball to the 6-foot-2-inch Miller, who missed the first foul shot but made the second to give the Crimson a 4-point advantage.

Penn’s last effort came up short and Kyle Casey put in a pair of foul shots to complete the win.

“I was surprised when [Miller] missed the first one,’’ said Amaker. “He’s beyond his years. He doesn’t get rattled.’’

Also aiding the Crimson cause off the bench was 6-7 freshman Steve Moundou-Missi, who put in 9 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Throw in the 17 points by Casey, who scored the first 9 points for the Crimson and Keith Wright, who grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked two shots, and you have a formula for success.

“On any given night anybody can score and do things,’’ said Wright, “It’s a scary team. It’s a scary team.’’

The Crimson are on top of the Ivy by two games as Cornell’s upset of Yale last night added to the Harvard lead.

The Crimson came into the Palestra knowing they couldn’t clinch anything, but they could also take a much firmer grasp on the Ivy race. They also came into the building well aware of the history of the series with the Quakers.

Overall, the numbers for Harvard on this annual Penn-Princeton weekend have not been kind. Harvard’s record against Penn before last night’s game was 33-127; against Princeton, it is only slightly better at 39-127. But Amaker’s team had won the last three meetings in the Palestra, as well as the last five games between the teams and six of the last seven.

In addition, Harvard is off to the best start in school history and breezed through its first six league games, another first for a Harvard team.

All of that meant nothing in the context of the importance of last night’s game - a traditionally tough game. For the last time Harvard won at Penn and at Princeton in the same season was in 1984-85.

In many ways it was a strange game, especially the first eight minutes of the second half, when the Crimson had scored only 5 points, but still held a 3-point lead.

But then the Crimson went on an 11-2 burst.

The lead seemed secure until Penn, led by guard Zack Rosen (16 points, 6 assists) fought back to within a basket when Rosen put in a 3-pointer from far beyond the top of the key.

Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.