In opening Ivy weekend, m. hoops wins two as Harvard knocks off Penn

Men's basketball's weekend was almost completely positive. Not only did the Tigers defeat Harvard and Dartmouth to open the Ivy League season, but Princeton (6-7 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) also notched its first win on the road this season by defeating Harvard, and then repeated the accomplishment at Dartmouth.

Princeton opened up at Harvard (10-6, 3-1) Friday by beating the Crimson, 50-48, and then followed the win up Saturday by handling Dartmouth, 57-46.

In the league, Princeton, Yale and Brown are all 2-0. Harvard advanced to 3-1 after handing league favorite Penn (10-4, 1-1) its first Ivy loss Saturday night.

The only negative part of the weekend was sophomore forward Andre Logan's knee injury during the Harvard game, which caused him to sit out the Dartmouth contest. Logan will find out whether or not his ACL is torn — and the fate of his season — on Tuesday, when he receives the results of his MRI.

Against Harvard, the Crimson got the score within two points, 50-48, with 54 seconds left in the game when junior Brady Merchant hit a three-pointer. An offensive foul on junior guard Kyle Wente with 21.9 seconds left gave Harvard a chance to tie the score, but the final play was botched when Crimson forward Andrew Gellert slipped and Harvard failed to get off a good shot. Princeton won its first away game as the Crimson, who were previously 5-1 at home, took their first Ivy loss.

Princeton controlled the beginning of the game, outscoring Harvard 24-19 in the first half. The Crimson got their second wind after halftime and managed to secure a 35-28 lead halfway through the second period. Three-pointers from senior guard Ahmed El Nokali and senior forward Mike Bechtold started the Tigers on a 15-2 run that put Princeton ahead, 43-37, with seven minutes, 44 seconds left to play.

Bechtold led the Tigers with 11 points and sophomore guard Ed Persia contributed 10 more.

"Harvard is always a tough place to play," Logan said. "They play really well in their gym. Penn lost there [Saturday night] and a lot of people think they're the best team in the league. We just really wanted to start the league off on a good note."

After the tight Harvard game, the win against Dartmouth (6-9, 0-4) was anticlimactic. Princeton won handily, 57-46, its second road win after starting the season 0-6 away from home.

The Big Green outscored the Tigers at the beginning of each half, but each lead was short-lived and Princeton was in control throughout the game.

Dartmouth began with a 5-0 lead in the first minute. But a 20-point run by the Tigers, during which the Big Green were kept silent for 16 minutes, put an end to Dartmouth's hope for its first Ivy League win. The Big Green managed to score eight points in the last three minutes of the period to send the game into halftime with Dartmouth trailing, 25-13.

In the second half, the Big Green again started off well, going on a 7-2 run before the Tigers managed to regain their footing. Princeton then built a lead that was as large as 19 points before finally putting Dartmouth out of its misery.

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Junior forward Ray Robins, who started the game in place of Logan, was the high scorer for the Tigers, racking up 14 points. Freshman guard Will Venable and El Nokali contributed nine points apiece.

Princeton now has a 16-day break for final exams. The Tigers resume play at home against Western Maryland on Jan. 28.