Red Raiders Last Tune-Up For M. Hoops Before Ivy Season Begins

The Harvard men's basketball team will be aiming to brush off its shooting woes when it meets Colgate tonight at the Reid Athletics Center in Hamilton, New York.

The Crimson (3-3, 0-0 Ivy League) must recover from Tuesday's hard-fought 68-64 loss to Boston University. After falling behind at halftime by a margin of 33-23, the Crimson was forced to play catch-up for the rest of the game and eventually ran out of steam. Although they were able to cut the lead down to 52-48 late in the second half, the Terriers never let them get closer than four points.

"We played a fairly good game, but we just missed a lot of big shots down the stretch," said senior Tim Hill.

The Crimson must plug in a new Energizer battery before tonight's match against Colgate. Before its loss against BU, Harvard's multifaceted offense had found its rhythm, decimating Sacred Heart by the margin of 79-64 and shooting 50 percent from the floor during the game.

Hill orchestrates a talented Harvard roster. The Crimson currently leads the Ivy League in points per game (71.8), field goal percentage (46.0), and blocks per game (4.8).

Hill leads the team with 15.8 points a game (eighth in the Ivy League) and adds 8.0 assists per game. Earlier this season, Hill became the only player in Harvard history to compile 1,000 career points and 400 career assists.

Complementing Hill's skills is the prolific inside-outside combination of seniors, captain Paul Fisher and Mike Beam.

On the inside, center Paul Fisher, averages 14.2 points and 8.0 rebounds (fifth in the Ivy League) per game. Shooting guard Mike Beam takes care of the perimeter scoring, contributing 13.3 points per game and averaging 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc for the season. Beam is second in the League in three-point field-goal percentage.

Harvard's shooting was uncharacteristically off during Tuesday's game against the Terriers. The Crimson made only six out of 20 shots from long distance and trailed by as many as 18 points during the second half.

A big part of the anemic shooting was sophomore standout Dan Clemente's uncharacteristically off night against BU. Last season's Ivy League Rookie of the Year finished 2-12 from the field and drawing blanks on seven three-point attempts. Clemente, usually one of Harvard's most reliable sharpshooters, must recover from the worst night of his short collegiate career and rediscover his shooting hand for tonight's match.

"I just never got any rhythm [in the BU game]," Clemente said. "I didn't get any good looks during the first half, and when I did get them during the second, I just couldn't hit them. I never got going."

While the Crimson offense is tops in the league, the same cannot be said for the defense. The Crimson gives up 70.7 points-per-game, second-to-worst in the Ivies.

Terrier star forward Walter Brown took advantage of a weary Harvard team by consistently finding holes in the Crimson's defense. Brown eventually racked up a game-high 20 points, and BU shooting guard Billy Beal contributed to the decimation of the Harvard defense by chipping in 17 points.

The Crimson faces a formidable opponent tonight in Colgate. Freshman forward Pat Campolieta led the Red Raiders (3-5, 0-0 Patriot League) to second place in the Ameritas Classic in Lincoln, Nebraska, this past weekend and was named to his second All-Tournament team in as many weeks. He was also named the Patriot League's Rookie of the week for the second consecutive week after averaging 15.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game last week.

Although Colgate has lost its last two games, the Red Raiders performed well in the Ameritas Classic. They upset Davidson College, last year's Southern Conference Champions, by shooting 50 percent from the field and connecting on five out of 12 three-pointers.

In the Raiders' win over the Wildcats, Campolieta chalked up 21 points and shot 63 percent from the field. His versatility will be a challenge that the Crimson must attempt to stifle.

"Colgate is a much-improved team, and we're going to have to try and continue what we've been doing to be successful," Hill said. "We're going to keep playing hard in every game. We'll try to make our strong defense turn into strong offense."

"We're expecting a tough game against Colgate," Clemente said. "If you look at their record, you'll see that they have some good wins against some tough schools, and we'll have to adjust to that."

The game against Colgate will serve as a final tune-up before the Crimson begins its Ivy League schedule. It first faces Dart-mouth (2-3) on Wednesday at Lavietes Pavilion.

Harvard must first, however, take the sparkle out of Colgate before it moves on to the Ivy League.