Harvard hands m. hoops second loss in two nights

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Head coach Joe Scott '87 sounded a lot like he had the night before. Questions were many and answers were few after Harvard (8-11 overall, 3-3 Ivy League) topped Princeton (10-8, 1-3), 61-57, on Saturday — the second consecutive night that the men's basketball team lost a late lead to a team it has traditionally dominated.

This time, it was a four-point advantage for Princeton with five minutes, 40 seconds to play that drowned under a wave of turnovers, missed free throws and poor rebounding. A 17-9 Crimson run to close the game sent the Tigers to their first winless Harvard-Dartmouth road trip since 1984.

"The difference between 3-1 and 1-3 is this much," Scott said, holding his thumb and forefinger slightly apart.

That small space reared its head after junior guard Scott Greenman hit a three-pointer at the 5:40 mark to give Princeton a 48-44 lead. In the next four Tiger possessions, junior forward Andre Logan missed the first free throw in a one-and-one chance, senior center Judson Wallace turned the ball over, Wallace missed a three-pointer and Greenman missed two free throws. Meanwhile, Harvard ran off six points in that stretch to take a 50-48 lead with 2:33 remaining.

A Wallace layup tied the score, but the Crimson converted an offensive rebound at the other end to take the lead back. Senior guard Will Venable beat his man on the next Tiger possession but was whistled for a questionable charging foul underneath the basket, nullifying a layup and potential three-point play.

Harvard then scored for a 54-50 lead. Two free throws from Venable got the Tigers back within two before the Crimson iced the game at the free throw line.

For Scott, the story was much the same as the night before, when a 41-32 lead disappeared in Hanover thanks to sloppy play.

"From 48-44, we didn't get a single loose ball or rebound the rest of the game," Scott said. "Things didn't go our way, but we have to make it go our way. Harvard made it go their way."

Venable, who was held to just eight points against Dartmouth, had an even quieter performance Saturday, taking just three shots all game. He finished with seven points.

Wallace, still recovering from a back injury, had a solid game for the Tigers, shooting 9-15 from the floor and scoring 23 points, which matched his season high. It was not enough for Princeton, though, which lost despite shooting 61 percent in the second half and 53 percent for the game.

"We're in one of those ruts right now," Scott said. "We're snakebit."

Greenman was the only other Tiger in double figures, scoring 12 points on four-of-five shooting from beyond the arc.

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Princeton was hammered on the boards and at the free throw line. Harvard outrebounded the Tigers, 29-17, and made 12 more freebies.

"The guys aren't used to playing the way we're playing," Scott said, referring to his different coaching style. "In order for us to develop, we have to go through these experiences."

With three losses in the league already, Princeton will be hard-pressed to defend its league title. The Tigers will need to run the table and get help from Penn's opponents to even have a shot at returning to the NCAA tournament.

"The question for the seniors is, 'Are they going to throw the towel in?' " Scott said. "From a technical standpoint, I saw improvement, but we have nothing to show for it in the column that matters."