M. Hoops Kicks Off Ivy League Season Against Dartmouth

Still reeling from the loss of junior Dan Clemente to a season-ending eye

injury, the Harvard men's basketball team will collide against Dartmouth

tonight at Lavietes Pavilion in its first Ivy League test of the year and only the second game without its star forward.

In the first game minus Clemente, who underwent surgery Friday to repair a detached retina, Harvard (3-4) was manhandled by Colgate, 76-49. The

Crimson scored just 14 points in the first half and shot a miserable 32.2% from the field.

Harvard cannot afford to start out flat again tonight against Dartmouth (3-3), which was picked by many to contend for an Ivy League title along with Penn and Princeton. The Big Green boasts one of the more explosive offenses in the conference, featuring a host of players who can score in double digits on any given night.

Shaun Gee, a 6'7' senior forward, leads Dartmouth, fresh off a 32-point effort in the Big Green's 85-72 loss to Quinnipiac on Saturday. Gee was a first-team All-Ivy choice last year.

"Gee is the player we're most concerned about," captain Damian Long said. "We're going to try to rotate guys in and out on defense to go to work on him. No matter who we put up on him, though, it'll be a tough match-up."

In addition to Gee, sharpshooting guard Greg Buth helps anchor a Dartmouth offense that lit up Keene State for 112 points on Nov. 23. Buth, who is averaging 17.5 points in his last four games, was the top three-point shooter in the nation one year ago. He remains capable of displaying the hot hand that can power the Big Green scoring machine.

But in recent games in which Dartmouth has shot poorly from behind the arc, its offense has sputtered. In its game against UNH on Nov. 26, the Big Green connected on just 4-of-30 attempted treys, and went on to lose, 75-57, in its most lopsided defeat of the year.

"We know they haven't shot the ball all that well this year from outside," said Long. "We need to watch [the guards], but if we focus too much on them, they'll just feed the ball inside."

A strong defensive effort inside the paint could prove key to Harvard's chances if its offensive woes continue.

The loss of Clemente could not have come at a worse time for the Crimson. After starting the year at a perfect 3-0 clip, the Crimson has taken a nose-dive in the past two weeks, losing four straight. Moreover, in its last two contests, Harvard has scored its two lowest point totals of the year.

Clemente's season-ending injury makes an already small Harvard squad even smaller. Lack of size plagued Harvard even when Clemente was healthy, but his absence only exacerbates the problem, as the Crimson will be without one of its biggest bodies.

With Clemente sidelined and freshman guard Brady Merchant still questionable with a hurt ankle, depth also becomes an issue for Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan.

Junior Tim Coleman, a 6'8 center, and 6'6 freshman forward Sam Winter will be among those who will see increased minutes. Both started in Saturday's loss to Colgate, but both also struggled, combining to connect on just 4-of-20 shots.

Coleman did, however, manage to collect a career-high 16 boards, pacing the Crimson, which outrebounded Colgate, 42-33.

Rebounding has been an area of improvement for Harvard of late, thanks to Coleman as well as sophomore Andrew Gellert. The 6'2 guard is currently the team's second-leading rebounder, snatching 5.1 rpg. In addition, Gellert is tied with Coleman for the team lead in offensive rebounds with 20.

Gellert's counterpart in the backcourt, freshman point guard Elliot Prasse-Freeman, will be back in action tonight after sustaining an eye injury on Saturday and being forced to leave the game.

Prasse-Freeman is fast emerging as a reliable floor general for the Crimson. While still prone to the occasional rookie mistake (his 29 turnovers lead the team), he is starting to make better decisions with his passes, and has also demonstrated a definite ability to score. Prasse-Freeman poured in 15 points and notched the team's first double-double against Navy on Dec.4, then added a career-high 16 points in Harvard's loss to Boston University on Dec. 7.

He will be one of several young Crimson players who will be forced to assume new responsibilities quickly in Clemente's absence.

Becoming accustomed to life without Clemente--the seventh-leading scorer in the nation before he went down--will undoubtedly take time, as many players will need to reexamine their offensive roles.

The Crimson cannot afford to force shots. In the loss to Colgate, many Harvard players looked to be trying to do too much to help pick up the slack in Clemente's absence. Against Dartmouth, Harvard will need to showcase better ball movement in order to generate higher-percentage shots.

"We just need to make sure we're not pressing the issue," said Long. "We need to create shots and give guys good looks."

In addition, Harvard must curtail the turnovers. The loss to Colgate saw

the Crimson surrender the ball 27 times, a mark uncharacteristic of a team

that boasts a +2.8 turnover ratio. A high number of turnovers will only

give the Big Green extra chances in the offensive end that Harvard can ill afford.

In short, Harvard will need to play better in its second game without

Clemente than it did in its first. If it simply plays within its own limitations, then Harvard might just discover that there is life after Dan Clemente and get the Ivy League season off on the right foot.

"I feel much more confident going into this game," said Long. "[Against Colgate], we only had twelve hours to get used to the idea of playing without Dan. Now that we've had a couple practices without him, we'll have a lot more flow on the court."

The curtain goes up tonight at 7 p.m.