Men's Hoops Falls to Bears, Bulldogs

PROVIDENCE, R.I.--Was it just not their weekend?

Has the team come crashing back to earth?

Whatever the reason, the men's basketball team suffered through a pair of gut-wrenching defeats this weekend at the hands of Ivy League foes Brown and Yale.

Brown 71, Harvard 60

On Friday in Providence, the Crimson (9-8, 3-3 Ivy) came out of the blocks with all the pickup of a Mack truck. The Crimson scored six points in the first 12 minutes and shot 20 percent from the floor en route to a 19-32 halftime deficit.

Despite a second half rally that brought the Crimson to within striking distance, Harvard was never able to effectively contain Brown's offense, and ended up on the short end of the stick, 71-60.

The Bears (4-14, 1-5) took advantage of porous interior defense in shooting 57 percent from the floor mostly due to easy buckets in the post. The athletic forward Kamal Roundtree came off the bench to score 17 points on perfect seven-for-seven shooting against a defensive unit which was clearly unprepared to deal with his quickness on the inside. HARVARD  60 BROWN  71 HARVARD  65 YALE  71

"We didn't do the job at the four and five spots defensively. Three [Bear post players] who average single figures scored in double digit figures," coach Frank Sullivan said. "They were way over their quota on the inside."

Harvard was competitive in the second half, making up ground behind nine points on four-for-six shooting by junior center Paul Fisher. Harvard closed to within five, and then three at the four-and three-minute marks, but Brown's 62 percent shooting in the second half prevented any sustained come-back, and the Bears pulled away in the closing minutes.

"Yes, we looked a little better on offense [in the second half]," Sullivan said. "But to respond [defensively] to a 52-percent shooting half with a 62-per-cent shooting half is not the proper response."

As Harvard started poorly, the team began pushing and showed signs of inexperience as seemingly all the loose balls ended up in the hands of a Brown player.

"I think two things happened," Sullivan said. "We got a few good shots early that didn't fall, and we had opportunities for loose balls, and we didn't retrieve them, and then we...became frustrated, which showed itself in poor concentration."

Harvard looked out of synch on both ends of thecourt throughout the game. Defensively the teambroke down with depressing frequency, yieldingeasy buckets to Bear forwards.

"It seemed like we were caught up and kind ofhelpless out there," Fisher said. "We werebreaking down on little things that make a bigdifference."

On the other end, Harvard was repeatedly forcedout of its offense as it was unable to get openlooks before the shot clock began to wind down.Junior point guard Tim Hill and captain swingmanMike Scott were forced into settling for toughjumpers far too often, leading to 7-for-29shooting on the night for the backcourt.

"Our offense was predictable," Fisher said. Noone was getting good shots, so we were having toresort to a ball screen for Hill. It's certainlynot the best option."

Hill had six assists and 15 points for theCrimson, while committing only two turnovers.

Freshman Dan Clemente led Harvard in scoringfor a team-high fifth time with 16, but theforward was only six-for-15 from the floor.

Yale 71, Harvard 65 (OT)

After all three teams in a second place tie inthe Ivies lost on Friday night, Harvard travelledto New Haven on Saturday looking for a rail ticketback to the upper echelons of the Ivy League.

Instead, they ran into a freight train.

Yale rode an outstanding first-half performanceinto overtime, where they were able to pull away,71-65.

With nearly, 2,500 raucous fans in attendance,Yale began the game at a torrid pace, torching thenets and holding a struggling Crimson squad at baythroughout the first half. When the dust settled,the Crimson found themselves in anall-too-familiar position, down 20-34 at half,looking to regroup.

"In the first half, Yale played probably theirbest basketball of the year," Fisher said. "Theywere very determined."

Although Harvard held Yale standout EmersonWhitley to one-for-13 shooting on the night, theother Bulldogs assumed the scoring load, as fiveplayers finished with at least eight points.

Clemente was the lone offensive bright spot forthe Crimson. The freshman big man hit six of 13from behind the arc, and his 22 points led allscorers.

"Yale's post players couldn't relocate Clementeon the Perimeter," Fisher said. "[Yale'spersonnel] suited his game well."

Elsewhere the Crimson struggled mightily at theoffensive end of the court, where it shot 31percent on the night. Playing without injuredshooting guard Mike Beam, Scott and Hill wereunable to assume the perimeter shooting load--thetwo finished a combined nine-for-29 from the floorand made only two of the 10 three-pointers theyattempted.

On the inside, the athletic Yale big men madelife hard on Fisher who took the brunt of theblows in what was a very physical game.

Fisher helped the Crimson hold the edge in thefinal rebounding margin, reeling in a game-high13, but was unable to contribute offensively--thecenter found himself dogged from all sides and wasunable to get off clean shots, finishing with fivepoints on two-for-10 shooting.

"I wasn't hitting my shot. It was a veryphysical game, and I got stuck down there a lot.I'm pretty banged up," Fisher said.

Notes

Junior Mike Beam sprained his left ankle in thegame vs. Brown Friday and did not dress Saturday.He is doubtful for this weekend against Penn andPrinceton.

When Harvard, Cornell and Yale all lost overthe Weekend, Penn (9-9, 3-1) leapt past threeteams into sole possession of second place in theleague.

Harvard is currently in the midst of a threegame losing streak, despite outscoring theiropponents in the second half of all three games.In losses to Hartford, Brown and Yale, the Crimsonhas trailed by 16, 11 and 14 points at the half.

Hill's nine assists over the weekend bring hiscareer assist total to within 16 of third place onHarvard's all-time assist list. Hill currently has375 career assists.

Brown, 71-60 at Pizzitola Sports Center,Providence

Harvard  19  41  --  60Brown  32  39  --  71

HARVARD: Scott 3-14 2-3 10; Clemente6-15 2-2 16; Fisher 6-14 3-4 15; Hill 4-10 6-8 15;Beam 0-2 0-0 0; Long 0-3 2-2 2; Coleman 1-1 0-0 2;Dexter 0-1 0-0 0; Lewis 0-0 0.TOTALS 20-60 15-19 60.

BROWN: Nee 2-7 2-3 8; Kapetanovic 5-70-0 10; Krasinski 5-9 3-4 13; Vandiver -3 1-2 5;Dantoni 2-10 5-6 9; Rountree 7-7 3-5 17; Bucci 3-32-2 9; Driggers 0-0 0. TOTALS: 26-46 16-22 71.

YALE, 71-65 (OT) at Payne-Whitney Gym, NewHaven

Harvard  20  35  10  65Yale  34  21  16  71

HARVARD: Scott 3-14 4-5 12; Clemente 8-190-0 22; Fisher 2-10 1-5 5; Hill 6-15 4-5 16;Dexter 1-4 2-2 4; Coleman 0-1 1-2 1; Lewis 0-0 0;Ewing 0-0 0. TOTALS 21-68 14-21 65.YALE: Petit 2-6 2-2 8; Whitley 1-13 4-7 7;Tompkins 6-7 5-7 17; Ricketts 3-9 2-2 8; Simpkins5-8 6-7 16; Cavaco 0-0 0; Hunterton 2-2 4-4 9;Yanke 0-0 3-4 3; Williams 0-1 1-2 1; Marschner 1-10-1 2. TOTAL: 20-47 27-36 71CrimsonZachary T. BallBOMBS AWAY: Junior guard TIM HILLprepares to shoot during Friday night's 71-60 lossto Brown in Providence.

"We didn't do the job at the four and five spots defensively. Three [Bear post players] who average single figures scored in double digit figures," coach Frank Sullivan said. "They were way over their quota on the inside."

Harvard was competitive in the second half, making up ground behind nine points on four-for-six shooting by junior center Paul Fisher. Harvard closed to within five, and then three at the four-and three-minute marks, but Brown's 62 percent shooting in the second half prevented any sustained come-back, and the Bears pulled away in the closing minutes.

"Yes, we looked a little better on offense [in the second half]," Sullivan said. "But to respond [defensively] to a 52-percent shooting half with a 62-per-cent shooting half is not the proper response."

As Harvard started poorly, the team began pushing and showed signs of inexperience as seemingly all the loose balls ended up in the hands of a Brown player.

"I think two things happened," Sullivan said. "We got a few good shots early that didn't fall, and we had opportunities for loose balls, and we didn't retrieve them, and then we...became frustrated, which showed itself in poor concentration."

Harvard looked out of synch on both ends of thecourt throughout the game. Defensively the teambroke down with depressing frequency, yieldingeasy buckets to Bear forwards.

"It seemed like we were caught up and kind ofhelpless out there," Fisher said. "We werebreaking down on little things that make a bigdifference."

On the other end, Harvard was repeatedly forcedout of its offense as it was unable to get openlooks before the shot clock began to wind down.Junior point guard Tim Hill and captain swingmanMike Scott were forced into settling for toughjumpers far too often, leading to 7-for-29shooting on the night for the backcourt.

"Our offense was predictable," Fisher said. Noone was getting good shots, so we were having toresort to a ball screen for Hill. It's certainlynot the best option."

Hill had six assists and 15 points for theCrimson, while committing only two turnovers.

Freshman Dan Clemente led Harvard in scoringfor a team-high fifth time with 16, but theforward was only six-for-15 from the floor.

Yale 71, Harvard 65 (OT)

After all three teams in a second place tie inthe Ivies lost on Friday night, Harvard travelledto New Haven on Saturday looking for a rail ticketback to the upper echelons of the Ivy League.

Instead, they ran into a freight train.

Yale rode an outstanding first-half performanceinto overtime, where they were able to pull away,71-65.

With nearly, 2,500 raucous fans in attendance,Yale began the game at a torrid pace, torching thenets and holding a struggling Crimson squad at baythroughout the first half. When the dust settled,the Crimson found themselves in anall-too-familiar position, down 20-34 at half,looking to regroup.

"In the first half, Yale played probably theirbest basketball of the year," Fisher said. "Theywere very determined."

Although Harvard held Yale standout EmersonWhitley to one-for-13 shooting on the night, theother Bulldogs assumed the scoring load, as fiveplayers finished with at least eight points.

Clemente was the lone offensive bright spot forthe Crimson. The freshman big man hit six of 13from behind the arc, and his 22 points led allscorers.

"Yale's post players couldn't relocate Clementeon the Perimeter," Fisher said. "[Yale'spersonnel] suited his game well."

Elsewhere the Crimson struggled mightily at theoffensive end of the court, where it shot 31percent on the night. Playing without injuredshooting guard Mike Beam, Scott and Hill wereunable to assume the perimeter shooting load--thetwo finished a combined nine-for-29 from the floorand made only two of the 10 three-pointers theyattempted.

On the inside, the athletic Yale big men madelife hard on Fisher who took the brunt of theblows in what was a very physical game.

Fisher helped the Crimson hold the edge in thefinal rebounding margin, reeling in a game-high13, but was unable to contribute offensively--thecenter found himself dogged from all sides and wasunable to get off clean shots, finishing with fivepoints on two-for-10 shooting.

"I wasn't hitting my shot. It was a veryphysical game, and I got stuck down there a lot.I'm pretty banged up," Fisher said.

Notes

Junior Mike Beam sprained his left ankle in thegame vs. Brown Friday and did not dress Saturday.He is doubtful for this weekend against Penn andPrinceton.

When Harvard, Cornell and Yale all lost overthe Weekend, Penn (9-9, 3-1) leapt past threeteams into sole possession of second place in theleague.

Harvard is currently in the midst of a threegame losing streak, despite outscoring theiropponents in the second half of all three games.In losses to Hartford, Brown and Yale, the Crimsonhas trailed by 16, 11 and 14 points at the half.

Hill's nine assists over the weekend bring hiscareer assist total to within 16 of third place onHarvard's all-time assist list. Hill currently has375 career assists.

Brown, 71-60 at Pizzitola Sports Center,Providence

Harvard  19  41  --  60Brown  32  39  --  71

HARVARD: Scott 3-14 2-3 10; Clemente6-15 2-2 16; Fisher 6-14 3-4 15; Hill 4-10 6-8 15;Beam 0-2 0-0 0; Long 0-3 2-2 2; Coleman 1-1 0-0 2;Dexter 0-1 0-0 0; Lewis 0-0 0.TOTALS 20-60 15-19 60.

BROWN: Nee 2-7 2-3 8; Kapetanovic 5-70-0 10; Krasinski 5-9 3-4 13; Vandiver -3 1-2 5;Dantoni 2-10 5-6 9; Rountree 7-7 3-5 17; Bucci 3-32-2 9; Driggers 0-0 0. TOTALS: 26-46 16-22 71.

YALE, 71-65 (OT) at Payne-Whitney Gym, NewHaven

Harvard  20  35  10  65Yale  34  21  16  71

HARVARD: Scott 3-14 4-5 12; Clemente 8-190-0 22; Fisher 2-10 1-5 5; Hill 6-15 4-5 16;Dexter 1-4 2-2 4; Coleman 0-1 1-2 1; Lewis 0-0 0;Ewing 0-0 0. TOTALS 21-68 14-21 65.YALE: Petit 2-6 2-2 8; Whitley 1-13 4-7 7;Tompkins 6-7 5-7 17; Ricketts 3-9 2-2 8; Simpkins5-8 6-7 16; Cavaco 0-0 0; Hunterton 2-2 4-4 9;Yanke 0-0 3-4 3; Williams 0-1 1-2 1; Marschner 1-10-1 2. TOTAL: 20-47 27-36 71CrimsonZachary T. BallBOMBS AWAY: Junior guard TIM HILLprepares to shoot during Friday night's 71-60 lossto Brown in Providence.

Harvard looked out of synch on both ends of thecourt throughout the game. Defensively the teambroke down with depressing frequency, yieldingeasy buckets to Bear forwards.

"It seemed like we were caught up and kind ofhelpless out there," Fisher said. "We werebreaking down on little things that make a bigdifference."

On the other end, Harvard was repeatedly forcedout of its offense as it was unable to get openlooks before the shot clock began to wind down.Junior point guard Tim Hill and captain swingmanMike Scott were forced into settling for toughjumpers far too often, leading to 7-for-29shooting on the night for the backcourt.

"Our offense was predictable," Fisher said. Noone was getting good shots, so we were having toresort to a ball screen for Hill. It's certainlynot the best option."

Hill had six assists and 15 points for theCrimson, while committing only two turnovers.

Freshman Dan Clemente led Harvard in scoringfor a team-high fifth time with 16, but theforward was only six-for-15 from the floor.

Yale 71, Harvard 65 (OT)

After all three teams in a second place tie inthe Ivies lost on Friday night, Harvard travelledto New Haven on Saturday looking for a rail ticketback to the upper echelons of the Ivy League.

Instead, they ran into a freight train.

Yale rode an outstanding first-half performanceinto overtime, where they were able to pull away,71-65.

With nearly, 2,500 raucous fans in attendance,Yale began the game at a torrid pace, torching thenets and holding a struggling Crimson squad at baythroughout the first half. When the dust settled,the Crimson found themselves in anall-too-familiar position, down 20-34 at half,looking to regroup.

"In the first half, Yale played probably theirbest basketball of the year," Fisher said. "Theywere very determined."

Although Harvard held Yale standout EmersonWhitley to one-for-13 shooting on the night, theother Bulldogs assumed the scoring load, as fiveplayers finished with at least eight points.

Clemente was the lone offensive bright spot forthe Crimson. The freshman big man hit six of 13from behind the arc, and his 22 points led allscorers.

"Yale's post players couldn't relocate Clementeon the Perimeter," Fisher said. "[Yale'spersonnel] suited his game well."

Elsewhere the Crimson struggled mightily at theoffensive end of the court, where it shot 31percent on the night. Playing without injuredshooting guard Mike Beam, Scott and Hill wereunable to assume the perimeter shooting load--thetwo finished a combined nine-for-29 from the floorand made only two of the 10 three-pointers theyattempted.

On the inside, the athletic Yale big men madelife hard on Fisher who took the brunt of theblows in what was a very physical game.

Fisher helped the Crimson hold the edge in thefinal rebounding margin, reeling in a game-high13, but was unable to contribute offensively--thecenter found himself dogged from all sides and wasunable to get off clean shots, finishing with fivepoints on two-for-10 shooting.

"I wasn't hitting my shot. It was a veryphysical game, and I got stuck down there a lot.I'm pretty banged up," Fisher said.

Notes

Junior Mike Beam sprained his left ankle in thegame vs. Brown Friday and did not dress Saturday.He is doubtful for this weekend against Penn andPrinceton.

When Harvard, Cornell and Yale all lost overthe Weekend, Penn (9-9, 3-1) leapt past threeteams into sole possession of second place in theleague.

Harvard is currently in the midst of a threegame losing streak, despite outscoring theiropponents in the second half of all three games.In losses to Hartford, Brown and Yale, the Crimsonhas trailed by 16, 11 and 14 points at the half.

Hill's nine assists over the weekend bring hiscareer assist total to within 16 of third place onHarvard's all-time assist list. Hill currently has375 career assists.

Brown, 71-60 at Pizzitola Sports Center,Providence

Harvard  19  41  --  60Brown  32  39  --  71

HARVARD: Scott 3-14 2-3 10; Clemente6-15 2-2 16; Fisher 6-14 3-4 15; Hill 4-10 6-8 15;Beam 0-2 0-0 0; Long 0-3 2-2 2; Coleman 1-1 0-0 2;Dexter 0-1 0-0 0; Lewis 0-0 0.TOTALS 20-60 15-19 60.

BROWN: Nee 2-7 2-3 8; Kapetanovic 5-70-0 10; Krasinski 5-9 3-4 13; Vandiver -3 1-2 5;Dantoni 2-10 5-6 9; Rountree 7-7 3-5 17; Bucci 3-32-2 9; Driggers 0-0 0. TOTALS: 26-46 16-22 71.

YALE, 71-65 (OT) at Payne-Whitney Gym, NewHaven

Harvard  20  35  10  65Yale  34  21  16  71

HARVARD: Scott 3-14 4-5 12; Clemente 8-190-0 22; Fisher 2-10 1-5 5; Hill 6-15 4-5 16;Dexter 1-4 2-2 4; Coleman 0-1 1-2 1; Lewis 0-0 0;Ewing 0-0 0. TOTALS 21-68 14-21 65.YALE: Petit 2-6 2-2 8; Whitley 1-13 4-7 7;Tompkins 6-7 5-7 17; Ricketts 3-9 2-2 8; Simpkins5-8 6-7 16; Cavaco 0-0 0; Hunterton 2-2 4-4 9;Yanke 0-0 3-4 3; Williams 0-1 1-2 1; Marschner 1-10-1 2. TOTAL: 20-47 27-36 71CrimsonZachary T. BallBOMBS AWAY: Junior guard TIM HILLprepares to shoot during Friday night's 71-60 lossto Brown in Providence.