Tigers Knock Out Crimson Cagers, 52-45

The frustration of the most disappointing weekend of the year displayed itself in a bench-cleaning brawl late in Saturday's Harvard Princeton men's basketball game.

The Harvard squad--which in just two games this weekend played itself out of contention for the Ivy title it's never won-reverted to right jabs and left hooks to vent the anger that comes with the knowledge that it very easily could have won those two games.

For last 24 hours after Harvard lost a 13 point lead and a last-second 53-51 heartbreaker to Penn, the Crimson Saturday night floundered a six point advantage and dropped a disappointing 52-45 loss to Princeton before 2000 tans at Briggs Athletic Center.

Now only time will tell whether the Crimson club many had tabbed as the finest in history will become just another Harvard men's basketball team.

That's because the weekend sweep by the clubs Harvard had swept on the road five weeks earlier left the Crimson two-and-a-half games behind liague-leading Penn (8-1 Ivy) and left the Crimson's dreams of a first-ever Ivy crown and a second-ever NCAA tournament berth all but decked by a one-two punch.

The losses by Harvard-which entered the weekend in control of its own mark to 6-4. So with only four games left on its schedule, the Crimson club tnat's now lost three of its last four will have enough trouble garnering any postseason bid whatsover, let alone an Ivy title.

"I feel bad for the team," said Harvard Coach Frank McLaughlin, whose squad many thought would challenge seriously for the league crown. "They've accomplished so much, and then to have to suffer through this, it just diesn't seem fair."

That went a long way towards explaining the barroom brawl at Briggs when only 21 seconds remained Saturday night.

"I think you saw the effects of a team that endured a very difficult weekend." Princeton Coach Pete Carril said of the Harvard Squad

Indeed few would have guessed beforehand that the Crimson would suffer such a turnaround in one weekend.

"This league is so emotional because we play consecutive games on the weekend," said McLaughlin. "Look what happened. We won down at Princeton, then came back and beat Penn the next night. Here we lost a heartbreaker Friday and you saw what happened tonight. The weekend took its toll. The players went into it with such an emotional high.

And they came out of it searching for the answers to how things fell apart.

"It's been a tough month of February," said senior Co-Captain Joe Carrabino, who Saturday night was held under 20 points for the fourth consecutive game and who finished the weekend 12 points shy of the all-time Harvard scoring mark.

Initially, though the Crimson appeared it might sneak out of the showdown against the losingest Tiger squad in 29 years with a victory.

Harvard forged a 23-19 halftime advantage on the strength of its 10 for-18 performance from the floor and the Tigers' abysmal nine for 24 effort from the parquet.

"We were right where we wanted to be at halftime, considering the type of game they play," Carrabini (who connected on just two of five shots from the floor on the night) said of the Tigers' slow, deliberate style.

But if the Tigers slowed the tempo in the first half, they reduced in to a crawl in the second.

When Jay Bubniak smacked an 18-ft, jumper with 7:22 remaining, Princeton was on too (35-34) for good and in control with a finely turned stall.

"They got the lead," said McLaughlin, "and they spread us out."

Holding the ball for stretches of two and three minutes, the Tigers forced the hosts to foul.

Though in the closing moments Princeton put on a display from the foul line that's accounted for its 13 losses, it had forged a big enough cushion to offset its charity stripe inacurracy.

Harvard did cut the lead to 48-44, and had a shot to trim it to two. But Bob Ferry's turnaround jumper with 25 seconds to go hit hard off the backboard. The ensuing fight for the rebound then set off the fight.

A fight that was the only one the Crimson had left after its battle for the Ivy title had all but ended.

Tigers, 52-45

at Briggs Athletic Center

PRINCETON (52)--Jay Bubniak 4-1-9; John Thompson 0-4-4; Howard Levy 6-3-15; Dave Orland 1-1-3; Joe Scott 3-3-9. John Smith 4-2-10; Alan William 0-0-0; Aaron Betz 1-0-2 Totally 19-14-52.

HARVARD (45)--Joe Carrabino 2-12; Arne Duncan 3-2-8; Keith Webster 3-0-6: Bob Ferry 5-1-11; Pat Smith 3-0-6; Kyle Dodson 1-0-2; Bill Mohler 0-0-0. Totals 17-11-45.

Halftime: H, 23-19

Fould Out-Ferry, Carrabino (ejected). Smyth (ejected). Total fouls-Harvard 20, Princeton 14. Rebounds-Harvard 26 (Carrabino 14), Princeton 19 (Bubniak 6). Assists-Harvard 12 (Dencan5). Princeton 15 (Belz 4).

Att:2000.