M. Basketball Looks for Some Ivy Wins

Four more wins. That's the magic number for the Harvard men's basketball team, which needs to win four of its final six games this season to ensure a .500 finish in the Ivy League, completing the best three year run in school history.

"Achieving this mark is very important to the team, especially to the juniors and seniors," said junior center Paul Fisher. "It's nice to be recognized as one of the best classes to come through Harvard."

With two road games against a tough Penn squad and the league-leading No. 9 Tigers of Princeton looming, the Crimson (10-10, 3-5 Ivy) faces must-win games this weekend against Cornell and Columbia if it is to have a chance at the record books.

On paper Harvard seems to have the edge over both the Big Red (7-13, 4-4 Ivy) and the Lions (7-13, 2-6), but the Crimson come off a weekend in which it played a grueling three games in four days. To make matters worse, the status of junior point guard and leading scorer Tim Hill and freshman forward Dan Clemente are in question, making the outcome of this weekend's games far from certain.

If Hill, who missed Monday night's game against Colgate, is unable to go, Harvard will need junior guard Mike Beam and sophomore guard Damian Long, who are coming off of a solid showing against Colgate, to once again step up and run the show.

The Crimson must also look to captain Mike Scott and Fisher, both coming off career scoring highs against Colgate Monday night, to give strong performances.

Cornell, coming off a lopsided loss to Yale, will pressure the weakened Crimson offense with its stingy defensive play. Senior guard DeShawn Standard, fourth in the Ivies in steals, and junior center Jeffrion Aubry, first in the league in blocks, lead a Big Red attack whose 39 percent field goal percentage allowed is tops in the Ancient Eight.

The Big Red's offense, on the other hand, has been miserable all season. It has been plagued by poor shot selection and sub-par ball-handling. In its loss to Yale, Cornell shot only 34 percent from the field. If the Crimson defense can keep the 6-11 Aubry, who had 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Bulldogs, and freshman forward and leading scorer Ray Mercedes in check, it should have its way with the Big Red.

"We definitely have to do a good job defensively on their explosive guards," Scott said. "Last time we played, Mercedes hit seven threes, so we have to do a better job as a team guarding him."

Columbia enters this Saturday night's game following a tough 59-56 loss to Brown and looking to avenge its 66-61 loss at home to the Crimson in January.

The Lions are led by talented junior guard Gary Raimondo, who is averaging 14.4 points, 7.2 boards, and two steals a game, and is coming off of a 19-point, seven-rebound performance against the Bears.

Columbia, and Raimondo in particular, has had its share of problems at the line with the team shooting 64 percent. Raimondo has hit only 49 percent of his free throw attempts and as a result seems reluctant to go to the hole, settling instead for jump shots.

With Hill questionable for the game, Harvard will look to attack the Lion's lack of size with the 6-8 Fisher, who is averaging 7.9 rebounds a game, and Scott, whose 14.4 points a contest is second on the team. By establishing a physical presence inside, the Crimson can tire the Lions and will further discourage Columbia's talented back court from driving to the hoop.

"Although they aren't a weak inside team, we did well against them inside last time, and we hope to do it again," Fisher said.

Both of these games are very winnable for Harvard, and with Princeton and Penn on the horizon, are crucial for the Crimson in its quest to make team history.

With no chance of winning the championship, it's the best shot Harvard has to make this season memorable.