Harvard Falls to Princeton, 77-71

The Harvard-Princeton rivalry has seen its fair share of end-game drama over the past three years at Lavietes Pavilion. In 2006, the Tigers came back from a 59-53 deficit over the final 1:17 of play to win on a last second jumper, 60-59. Last year, the Crimson used a 20-8 run in the last seven minutes to force overtime and win.

Sufficed to say, the Harvard faithful have seen some of the team’s greatest highs and lowest lows in its battles against the Tigers.

After a devastating 77-71 loss Saturday night, the Crimson (9-9, 1-3 Ivy) is as close as it’s ever been to being down and out.

Expectations were high coming into the weekend, as Harvard was poised to vault itself into the upper echelons of the Ivy standings. After two crippling defeats, the team is left guessing what to do next.

“It’s almost like we need to [re]-learn how the win,” senior guard Drew Housman said. “We’re always expecting a close game. We need to play hard for [the full] forty minutes and let the rest follow.”

The story of the game was defense—or lack thereof. Coming into the game, Princeton had only mustered sixty points in five of its 14 games. In scoring 77, the squad eclipsed its season average by leaps and bounds.

“They hit some tough shots, it wasn’t a lack of effort,” Housman said. “We need to improve on our communication, they confused us.”

But the game was still undecided with seven minutes to play, as Harvard took its last lead at 56-54 on two free throws by freshman Keith Wright.

From that point on, Harvard couldn’t buy a stop. With the exception of a ten-second violation forced by Housman and two missed free throws, Princeton scored on every trip down court to close out the contest. It posted a 23-15 run to finish the game.