Cagers Show Split Personality

Talk about an identity crisis.

At times this season, the Harvard men's basketball team has played like Dr. Jekyll, dominating games and making dramatic comebacks.

And at other times, the cagers have been a bunch of Mr. Hydes, throwing away games to inferior teams.

After splitting a pair of weekend games with Columbia and Cornell, the Crimson has made it clear that it doesn't know who it is.

Friday night at Levien Gym in New York, Harvard played like a bunch of Dr. J's, and trampled Columbia, 64-57, in front of 700 fans.

But in Ithaca's Barton Hall the next night, the sloppy Crimson was crushed by a solid Cornell team, 75-50, in front of 1000 fans.

Against the Lions, the Crimson sank over 50 percent of its shots, while the tough Harvard zone kept the Lions from getting free shots.

"We felt coming into the game that we had a good game plan," Roby said. "In the last four games, we've played zone primarily to keep the opponent's shooters from taking advantage of screens to get their shots off."

The Harvard zone worked especially well against Columbia's leading scorer Matt Shannon. Shannon, who is a definite three-point threat, was frustrated by the zone, and shot only 4-for-11 from the field.

Harvard trailed, 29-28, at halftime, but came back with the help of guard Ralph James. The freshman scored ten straight points down the stretch to put the Crimson ahead for good.

James--who leads Harvard in scoring and rebounding--finished the game with 20 points and 10 rebounds. For his efforts, James was named Ivy League Rookie-of-the-Week for the third consecutive week.

Tri-Captain Mike Gielen also fired in 16 points for the Crimson, while handing out 5 assists.

"If we stick to the game plan," Neil Phillips said, "we get results like [the Columbia game]. That increases our confidence."

The next night, the Crimson's confidence was shattered by a strong Big Red team, which gave Harvard as crushing a defeat as it has had all year.

The Crimson came out flat against Cornell, and the Big Red never looked back. Cornell held leads of 13-0, 24-5, and 35-11, before the half ended with the Big Red on top, 35-13.

"We dug a hole for ourselves, and we couldn't get out of it," Tri-Captain Kyle Dodson said. "It just kind of snowballed."

Although Harvard tried to come back in the second half, the game had already been decided.

"We played poorly against a good team, and they came out on top," Dodson said.

Despite the tough loss, the Crimson should be satisfied with its split on the road, if not its split personality.

Harvard still has seven Ivy League games at home remaining this season. That should be enough games for the Crimson to find its identity.