Men's Hoops Look to Top Catamounts

The Harvard men's basketball team will attempt to ride the wave of a shocking 79-78 comeback victory over Dartmouth tonight at home against Vermont.

Harvard (4-3, 1-0 Ivy) was down four points with 6.3 seconds remaining in the game at Dartmouth on Saturday when Crimson captain Dan Clemente drained a three-pointer to cut the lead to one. Sophomore guard Pat Harvey then stole the ensuing in-bounds pass and made two free-throws under immense pressure to give Harvard a one-point advantage. Sophomore guard Brady Merchant stole Vermont's long out-of-bounds pass after the second free-throw to seal the victory for Harvard.

"The win was huge for us," Clemente said. "This league is going to be so close this year. Every win is important."

Harvard returns to its non-league schedule tonight against Vermont (4-3). The Catamounts lost on Sunday to Holy Cross, 87-73. The defeat snapped Vermont's three-game winning streak, which included a 93-90 overtime victory over Yale.

The Catamounts are led by freshman point-guard T.J. Sorrentine, who was voted the America East Rookie of the Week for the first two weeks of December. He scored 22 points in the loss to Holy Cross and averages six assists per game. Crimson junior guard Andrew Gellert will have the unfortunate challenge of guarding Sorrentine, who played 43 minutes against Yale.

While Sorrentine quarterbacks the team, Vermont has a high-powered, multi-faceted offense that will be difficult for Havard to contain. Senior guard Tony Orciari scored 20 points against Holy Cross and had 31 in the victory against Yale. He leads the America East conference in scoring, averaging 19.9 points per game and was voted an AP Pre-season All-American.

In the front court, Vermont boasts junior forward Trevor Gains, who pitched in 17 points and 10 rebounds against Yale, and sophomore power forward Scott Jones, who had 18 rebounds against the Crusaders.

Vermont lost its first game of the year at home against Holy Cross. The Crusaders jumped out to a 49-23 halftime lead, but Vermont clawed its way back into the game, cutting the lead to five with 6:57 remaining. That would be as close as the Catamounts would get, however, as Holy Cross went on a 9-3 run to put the game out of reach.

"Vermont is a big team, and they can dominate the glass," Harvey said. "Their guards can shoot and will have to be well defended."

Harvey was the main attraction against the Big Green. He finished with 17 points, increasing his scoring average on the season to 14.7 points per game. But, it was the 'Dennis Johnson-esque' steal and the two game winning free-throws that earned Harvey 'Crimson Athlete of the Week.'

Harvey is currently second in the nation in free throw shooting at 96.4 percent (26-for-27). He was probably the one man Dartmouth did not want to foul, though the squad had little choice after Harvey stole the pass underneath its own basket. Frantically, Dartmouth guard Flinder Boyd fouled Harvey on his way for a lay-up. The sophomore nailed both as Harvard miraculously scored five points in six seconds.

The game served as a coming out party for both sophomores Harvey and Merchant. The latter scored a career high 15 points and blocked a key shot in the waning minutes to give Harvard the chance to cut into Dartmouth's late lead.

The Crimson's starting backcourt, composed of Gellert and sophomore point-guard Elliot Prasse-Freeman, rose to the occassion when the game was on the line. Gellert finished with a double-double, scoring 17 points and bringing down 10 rebounds, while Prasse-Freeman came up with the game's biggest board, hauling in Crimson sophomore guard Sam Winter's missed three-pointer and promptly dishing the ball to Clemente.

Clemente's three, which cut the lead to one, was his 170th of his career. Earlier in the game, Clemente broke the all-time Harvard record for career three-pointers (topping Mike Gilmore's total of 167). The senior hopes to add to his mark tonight.

"Dartmouth was a huge emotional pick up for us," Harvey said. "It's great to hang tough throughout a game and emerge with a victory, especially an Ivy League win."

Harvey believes that Vermont's team is built similarly to Dartmouth's. If this is the case, Harvard will be in for another challenge.

"We're going to have to work really hard to stay on top of Vermont," Harvey said. "The game is going to be a great test for us."

If Harvard gets past Vermont tonight, the Crimson would take its two game winning streak to Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets, part of the mythical ACC, are the toughest team Harvard will face in the regular season. If Harvard fares well tonight, it might give the team the momentum it needs to show the ACC who's boss on December 28.