M. Cagers Fly, But Can't Reach Top

1996

Sports Statistics

Record: 17-9, 10-4 Ivy

Ivy Finish: Second

Coach: Frank Sullivan

Key Players: Seniors Kyle Snowden and Chris Grancio; Sophomore Tim Hill

1997

With a fadeaway in the final seconds of regulation, sophomore Tim Hill had given the Harvard men's basketball team a chance for redemption against Penn.

"Thank God he made that shot," said captain David Demian.

Now, as senior Chris Grancio squared off against the Quakers' Geoff Owens for the opening tip in overtime, the Crimson was ready to cement the 1996-97 season as another solid step forward.

The Quakers were just 10-12 entering the game, but they could still hurt a team. Penn had certainly hurt Harvard in their previous meeting on Feb. 7, when the Quakers trimmed the Crimson, 85-68.

"They always seemed to have something over us," Demian said.

Penn also had history on its side: Three consecutive Ivy League championships from 1992-95. In that period, the Quakers had torn up the league at a 42-0 clip. Harvard had not defeated the Quakers since Feb. 1, 1991, when the Crimson prevailed, 77-70.

When Grancio tipped the ball to Hill, however, Harvard prepared to make its own mark. Penn's Jed Ryan subsequently fouled senior Kyle Snowden, who gave Harvard the lead on a free throw. The Crimson never relinquished that lead and ultimately won, 76-67.

The season began in similarly spectacular fashion, as the Crimson matched its 1995-96 campaign by winning its first four games.

Strong performances by the starters highlighted that streak.

In the team's season opener on Nov. 26, Grancio lit up Lafayette for 24 points, then a career high. Hill scored 22 against UNH in a 67-58 win on Nov. 30.

Snowden dropped 23 points on Babson as Harvard rolled, 110-67, on Dec. 2. Two days later, Hill and Snowden each scored 19 points, with the latter grabbing nine rebounds in a 77-64 defeat of Army.

A pair of three-game losing streaks, though, mired the team at .500. Included in that stretch was a 69-60 loss to Dartmouth in Harvard's Ivy opener on Dec. 17. On Jan. 2, the Crimson set a school record for three-point accuracy by converting nine of 14 in a 66-63 loss to Navy.

Harvard roared back into league contention by winning its next six games, a feat unequalled since the 1984-85 season. Five of those six wins were against Ivy opponents. Igniting that stretch, Harvard avenged its previous loss to Dartmouth with a 64-56 defeat of the Big Green on Jan. 6. Also during that span, Snowden climbed into first place in Harvard career rebounding when he grabbed 16 against Lehigh on Jan. 28.

With a 5-1 league record, championship hopes soared as the team geared for showdowns with nemesis Penn and Princeton.

Penn stalled the Crimson drive by connecting on 7-of-13 three-pointers in the first half on Feb. 7. The Quakers were even deadlier from down-town in the second half, when they made 5-of-7 from behind the arc. Overall, Penn converted 57.1 percent of its field goals.

Princeton used a stronger form of the same basic formula to defeat Harvard 75-51, the next day. Like Penn, Princeton torched Harvard from the field, with the Tigers making 60.5 percent of their shots.

Snowden snapped Harvard out of its slump by scoring a career-high 27 points in a 75-59 rout of Cornell on Feb. 14. The next day at Columbia, Snowden shelled the Lions for 21 as the Crimson rolled, 81-57. With his performance that weekend, Snowden moved into sixth place on the Harvard career scoring list.

The following weekend, facing a 20-3 Princeton squad that was 10-0 in the league, Harvard battled tenaciously. The Crimson grabbed a 22-20 lead before the Tigers reclaimed a 29-23 advantage at the half.

Princeton swelled its margin to as many as 17 in the second half, but a furious Harvard rally drew the Crimson to within five in the final minutes. Grancio shone in that game, making all six of his free throws and topping his career high with 25 points.

"Our inside players were our obvious strength," Demian said. "Grancio and Snowden each had spectacular seasons offensively and defensively."

The season culminated the next evening against Penn, when Harvard overcame a 14-point second-half deficit to win.

Demian suggested that the previous night's loss galvanized the team against Penn.

"It agitated an already-anxious crowd," Demian said. "It may have intensified things."

Grancio scored a career-high 26 points in that game and Snowden recorded a double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Hill tallied four assists in that game, moving him into fifth place on the all-time Harvard assist chart.

"Everyone had good moments in the second half," Demian said. "We were on a roll and had home energy. The clock ran out, but we had enough time to beat them."

The victory over Penn guaranteed Harvard its first winning league record since the 1983-84 season. Harvard added two blowout victories over Yale and Brown to cement a robust 10-4 league mark, the team's best since the 1970-71 campaign.

Harvard won 17 games in 1996-97, the second-highest win total in school history since the 1945-46 NCAA tournament team which enjoyed a 19-3 season.

Snowden earned unanimous first-team honors on the 1997 All-Ivy team. He led the league in rebounding (9.7 rpg) and was fourth in scoring (16.4 ppg).

Hill, who led the team in assists, was named to the second team.

Harvard's biggest task for next season will be to replace its graduating seniors--Snowden, Grancio, Demian and swingman David Weaver. The Crimson will need Hill to step into a larger scoring role as well as a strong recruiting class to reach the level it reached this season.