Princeton Gives Cagers New Hope

Princeton's John Smyth last night kept alive the Harvard men's basketball team's Ivy title hopes by sinking two free throws with five seconds remaining to give the Tiger a stunning 49-47 upset victory over Penn.

The Princeton's triumph before 5500 face at the Palestra in Philadelphia broke a seven-game Quaker inning streak and left league-leading Penn two games ahead of second-place Harvard and Cornell.

With four games remaining to go in the race for the covered Ancient Eight crown. Penn now holds an 8-2 Ivy mark, Harvard and Cornell are deadlocked at 6-4.

That means two wins in their final four games would assure the Quakers of at least a tie for their 10th Ivy crown in the last 17 years and their first in three years.

Harvard and Cornell, meanwhile, would have to win all for of their remaining games, and Penn would have to lose two just to force a tie.

Considering that the Big Red visits the Crimson this weekend, the only possible scenario is a two-way tie.

And though that doesn't seem very plausible, it's at least possible because of last night's upset in Philadelphia.

The Tigers, who led until just five minutes remained, stifled a gallant Quaker comeback with precision free throws in the final minutes.

What helped the visitors was a one-for-13 performance from the floor by Penn's Perry Bromwell, who last Friday hit an 18-ft, jumper with four seconds to go to defeat Harvard, 53-51.

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That two-point loss Friday night and subsequent seven-point defeat at the hands of Princeton Saturday night has forced the Crimson to change the way it spells postseason.

N-I-T now looks a lot better than N-C-A-A.

Sixty-four teams will receive an invitation to this year's prestigious NCAA journey, with the Ivy champion getting an automatic bid.

With Penn still the odds-on favorite to cop and crown and the accompanying NCAA bid, any Harvard postseason hopes may now lie with the NIT.

Nevertheless, the word is than Harvard probably would have to win all four of its remaining games to have a shot at any NIT bid.

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D.C. hoop fans couldn't help but notice the irony in last Saturday's Harvard-Princeton showdown that had Tiger John Thompson, Jr. guarding the Crimson's Bob Ferry, Jr.

Two of the biggest names in Washington basketball are John Thompson. Sr.--the coach of defending national champion Georgetown--and Bob Ferry, Sr.--the general manager of the Washington Bullets.

Their sons got together Saturday, but you've got to wonder who'd win the matchup on the senior circuit.

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For those who still question Harvard's arrival at the forefront of Ivy hoop, consider that the last four Harvard-Penn games have been decided by a total of nine points.

Harvard's 1-3 in those games, but it's given the Quakers a Pretty big scare each time.

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The four largest crowds in Briggs Athletic Center history have all come in the last two years, but none has seen in Crimson win.

Harvard has lost, most recently, to Penn (before a crowd of 2950)and to Princeton (2:00).

A year ago, the Crimson felt to Cornell (2850)and to Duke (2650).

That makes the eagers 0-4 to their most recent home games before crowds of 2000.

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The Basketball Notebook Appear (Almost) Every Wednesday in The Harvard Crimson.