M. Hoops Faces Ivy Must-Wins

The Harvard men's basketball team returns to Ivy League action this weekend with an adjusted starting lineup and hopes of establishing itself as a conference contender. Harvard plays its first two league road games at Cornell tonight and at Columbia tomorrow night.

Just as a pair of victories would keep the Crimson in the Ivy title race, two losses could kill any chance of an Ancient Eight title.

After dropping the conference opener at home to Dartmouth, 78-59, Coach Frank Sullivan switched sophomore Dan Clemente to power forward and moved junior Damian Long back to swingman in the team's next game, against Northeastern. Clemente responded with 32 points against the Huskies and led the Crimson on a three-game winning streak, including victories over Hartford and Santa Clara, to make this week's Ivy League Honor Roll.

Harvard (6-7, 0-1 Ivy) then dropped its next two games, to St. Joseph's and Navy. Still, the Crimson has improved from its disastrous performance against Dartmouth, and the five games over winter break will not affect Harvard's conference standing.

Two losses this weekend, however, and the Crimson would leave New York with an 0-3 Ivy League record and virtually eliminated from the title race.

The key match-up in tonight's game at Cornell (5-6, 0-0) will be in the post. Cornell senior center Jeffrion Aubry is ninth in the Ancient Eight in scoring at 14.2 points per game (ppg) and, with his 6'11 frame, third in rebounding at 8.7 rebounds per game (rpg). Aubry made this week's Ivy League Honor Roll by pacing the Big Red with 22 points and 14 rebounds in last Saturday's loss at Army, 64-63.

Harvard will match captain Paul Fisher against Aubry. Fisher is third on the team and tied for 14th in the league in scoring at 11.9 ppg and, more importantly, is fourth in the league in rebounding at 8.1 rpg.

Fisher struggled against taller players against Santa Clara and St. Joseph's but recovered against Army with 10 points and 10 boards. Still, Aubry's three-inch height advantage over Fisher could present a problem for Harvard.

The Crimson will also get its first look at Big Red freshman point guard Wallace Prather, who has twice been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week and is third in the Ancient Eight with 4.1 assists per game (apg), while scoring at a clip of 11.4 ppg. But Harvard will counter with senior point guard Tim Hill, who leads the conference with 6.9 apg and leads the team in scoring at 15.7 ppg. Against St. Joseph's, Hill became the third player in school history to record more than 500 assists in his career.

If Fisher can neutralize Aubry down low, Harvard's success may depend on its three-point shooters--senior shooting guard Mike Beam (40.2 percent from three), Long (36.8 percent) and Clemente (33.3 percent). Clemente has improved his outside shot dramatically since moving to power forward, where opponents are not used to defending at the perimeter.

Cornell also has two players shooting over 30 percent from distance in guard Kevin Cuttica and forward Ray Mercedes. Mercedes--the runner-up to Clemente for 1997-98 Ivy League Rookie of the Year--is tied for 10th in the conference in scoring at 13.9 ppg.

Harvard's main challenge Saturday night at Columbia (5-7, 0-0) will be containing senior guard Gary Raimondo, who is fourth in the Ancient Eight in scoring at 16.2 ppg and sixth in rebounding at 6.4 rpg. Forward Erik Crep made this week's Ivy League Honor Roll and is second on the team in scoring at 10.5 ppg.

Raimondo lit up Harvard last year in Cambridge en route to a Columbia victory. But the Crimson defeated the Lions in New York and swept both games against the Big Red.

Defense was a deciding factor during Harvard's three-game winning streak. The Crimson has been alternating between man-to-man and a 1-3-1 zone (with the 5'11 Hill playing on the baseline looking to double-team bigger players and strip the ball) to prevent the opposition from getting into an offensive rhythm.

And Sullivan surprised everyone by implementing a fullcourt press in the victory over Santa Clara. It will be interesting to see how Prather and Columbia point guard Abe Yasser react if Harvard continues its creative, aggressive play on the defensive end.