M. Hoops Fall to Northeastern, 72-63

Lead..

Although the Harvard men's basketball team went into the half with a 36-30 lead, the Crimson (4-5, 1-0 Ivy) lost to cross-town rival Northeastern (2-5) on Saturday, falling 72-63 at the Lavietes Pavilion.

With the defeat, Harvard dropped below the .500 mark for the first time this season.

The Crimson led by as much as seven points in the second half, but its lead was negated when Northeastern went on a 15-2 run with 13 minutes remaining in the game.

The turning point of the contest came 15:21 minutes into the second half when Husky sophomore guard Jean Bain connected with freshman forward Toby Brittian on an alley-oop.

Brittian's thunderous dunk over the heads of the Harvard defenders seemed to squash the Crimson momentum, and succeeded in silencing the partisan crowd. Additionally, the slam was the final blow to an already tired squad.

"I think that fatigue entered in," Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan said. "We gave up the baseline."

With only 3:52 left, the Crimson found itself down by nine, after Brittian drained a jumper. The youthful Harvard squad's defense deserted it down the stretch. Harvard was outscored by the Huskie's in the second half, 42-27.

"Inexperience reared its ugly head in the second half," Sullivan said. "We weren't particularly effective defensively in the half."

Defense wasn't the only thing that suffered as the game wore down. Although the Crimson shot a decent 46.7 percent from the field in the first half, it stumbled in the second, shooting only 32.6 percent.

The Huskies, on the other hand, dominated the half with an impressive 65.4 percent effort. Northeastern's performance was a far cry from Harvard's previous opponent.

"After the first half, Dartmouth rolled over," said captain Damian Long of the upset win over the Big Green on Wednesday. "Northeastern didn't."

Despite its struggles, the Crimson managed to come within four points with only 2:19 left after freshman forward Sam Winter hit a jumper from the baseline.

Harvard would get no closer, however, as Northeastern pulled away at the close of the game by making key free fouls and capitalizing on two poor Harvard passes from freshman point guard Elliott Prasse-Freeman and sophomore guard Andrew Gellert.

Despite the losing effort, the Crimson looked sharp in the first half.

Junior center Tim Coleman had ten points, five rebounds, and two blocks. Long also added 10 points in the first half. Both finished with 18 points on the day. Long's four three-pointers and 18 points both marked career-highs. Coleman fell just short of a double-double grabbing nine rebounds on the afternoon.

Harvard also had some problems at the foul line, shooting just 66.7 percent from the line, while the Huskies posted a decent 73.3 percent.

The Crimson, however, did out-rebound the Huskies, 36-32.

Northeastern relied on the strong three point shooting of senior point guard Terry Kringe, who made all five of the Huskie's three-pointers on six attempts. Kringe finished with 19 points in the game, good enough for the game-high.

The Crimson could not match the Huskies from behind the arc, shooting a mediocre 5-of-19 from behind three-point land.

The Huskies inside presence on the defensive end also gave Harvard problems, as Northeastern blocked 11 of the Crimson's shots. Harvard had only two blocks on the game, both coming from Coleman.

The young Harvard team was outdone by the more experienced Northeastern squad. The Crimson started two freshmen and a sophomore.

Aside from Coleman and Long's performances, Harvard had mixed results from its younger players.

Freshman Prasse-Freeman ran the point for the Crimson, contributing 11points, nine assists and three steals in the losing effort. He did, however, turn the ball over seven times.

Despite the turnovers, the solid play of Prasse-Freeman is encouraging for Harvard, which is seeking a replacement for last year's senior point guard Tim Hill. Hill graduated as Harvard's career assist leader.

"Elliott had a very good day," said Sullivan of his freshman point guard's performance.

Winter--who is filling in for injured star, junior forward Dan Clemente--had a tough afternoon, scoring just four points and grabbing just two boards.

Saturday marked the Crimson's third game without the help of their scoring leader, Clemente. Clemente, who last played on Dec. 7, is sidelined for the season with a detached retina.

"When we lost Clemente, we lost a big cog in our offense," Sullivan said. "But our guys have made excellent progress in the past seven days. A week ago at this time we were in bits and pieces"

Harvard, though, got very little help from its bench on Saturday. Freshman center Onnie Mayshak chipped in with three points and five rebounds on 14 minutes of play. Mayshak, however, was the only non-starter to score.

Northeastern, on the other hand, benefited from a 17-point effort off the bench from Bain.

Saturday marked the 43rd meeting of the two teams. The Crimson holds a 32-11 advantage in the series.

Harvard returns to action tomorrow evening when it take on Sacred Heart on the road.