M. Hoops Meets Northwestern

Maybe life after D.C. won't be so bad after all.

After losing junior superstar Dan Clemente for the season last Friday, the

Harvard men's basketball team will continue its rebuilding process Saturday afternoon against Northeastern at Lavietes Pavillion.

Despite losing Clemente, who had been the team's leading scorer with 21.2

points per game, the Crimson (4-4, 1-0 Ivy) has not given up its hope for an Ivy crown.

"We know that we can't become complaisant now," freshman guard Elliott Prasse-Freeman said. "We have to focus on playing well in every game."

In its second game after Clemente's season-ending eye surgery, the Crimson won its first league match of the year Wednesday night, upsetting Dartmouth 66-59. All five starters posted double figures in scoring, with junior Tim Coleman's 14 points leading the way.

The Crimson backcourt also turned in a stellar effort against the Big Green. Sophomore guard Drew Gellert chalked up seven rebounds and thirteen points, and Prasse-Freeman, his freshman partner-in-crime, finished with eight rebounds, six assists, and 12 points.

"Playing with Drew has been great," Prasse-Freeman said. "We're both quick and handle the ball well, so when we're both on the court, it's like we have two point guards on the floor."

Filling in for Clemente was freshman forward Sam Winter, who turned in his best performance of the year by tallying 12 points and eight rebounds against Dartmouth.

Leading the Huskies this season has been junior Marcus Blossom. After scoring only four points against UNC-Greensboro on Nov. 27, Blossom has been on a scoring rampage, averaging 20.7 points per game in the Huskies' last three contests.

The Huskies' only win this year occurred against UNH, when Blossom contributed a season-high 23 points and five assists.

Bolstering a weak Northeastern frontcourt is freshman standout Toby Brittian, who took over sophomore Jean Bain's starting spot in mid-season. The move has proved beneficial for both players. Brittian, who had been averaging 1.8 points and 0.5 rebounds coming off the bench, has averaged 14.5 points per game since taking over the starting position.

Bain has also blossomed in his new role as the team's sixth man, averaging 9.0 points per game and shooting 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

Center George Aygar, a native of Turkey, will face off against Coleman in the battle of the boards. He is second on the team in scoring (10.5) and rebounding (4.7), and he leads the team in total blocks this season with 10.

The Huskies, coming off a ten-day break, last saw action Dec. 8 against

St. Peter's. It suffered a disappointing 67-65 loss to St. Peter's after the Peacocks' Kalief Allen hit a 17-foot jumper with 5.8 seconds left on the clock.

Bain had the chance to win the game for the Huskies with a tough leaner in the paint, but the Peacocks blocked his shot, leaving the Huskies with another loss.

In the setback against St. Peter's, Blossom racked up a team-high 17 points for Northeastern, with Bain and Brittian each chipping in 12 points. The Huskies stayed close to the Peacocks all night and even led 61-59 with 3:29 left, but they were unable to maintain their momentum.

Because the relatively young and inexperienced Huskies tend to run

into foul trouble, Harvard will have to capitalize on free-throw opportunities. For the season, Northeastern is 51-of-83 from the line (59.3 percent), whereas its opponents have converted on 101-of-137 chances from the charity stripe

(73.7 percent). The Huskies' inability to make their free throws has translated into an 8.3-point advantage for their opponents this season.

Against Dartmouth on Wednesday night, Harvard shot an impressive 89.5 percent from the line, with 17 of the Crimson's 66 points coming from the stripe.

Another problem area for Northeastern has been its rebounding this season. The Huskies have been out-rebounded by an average of 5.5 boards per game. While junior Tyrone Hammick leads the team with 6.5 rebounds per game, he has gotten little support from the rest of his teammates on the front line this year.

Although Clemente's loss has made Harvard's rebounding an area of concern, the Crimson dominated the boards against the Big Green on Wednesday night. Harvard out-rebounded Dartmouth 41 to 29, and four of the five Crimson starters grabbed at least seven boards on the night.

"We've been working on our rebounding ever since the Navy game [on Dec. 4]," Prasse-Freeman said. "It was a problem for us at the beginning of the year, but since then, we've been working really hard at going to the boards after every single shot."

Saturday's contest against Northeastern will prove whether Harvard is on the road to recovery.

If Harvard performs as well when it faces Northeastern as it did against Dartmouth on Wednesday, the Crimson should have no trouble taming the Huskies.