Men's Basketball Notebook

Before two sellout crowds at Lavietes Pavilion this weekend, the Harvard men's basketball team provided statisticians with a plethora of new information to enter into the record books.

The Crimson's 77-62 victory over Pennsylvania on Friday night snapped the Quakers' 25-game conference winning streak. It was the longest active streak in the nation, spanning three years.

Penn Coach Fran Dunphy downplayed the streak, despite its impressiveness.

"The streak meant nothing," Dunphy said. "Previous years mean nothing to this year's team. We were undefeated this season, and now we have one loss. That's the only thing that matters."

The 15-point victory also snapped the team's six-game losing streak to the Quakers. Harvard's last win over Penn dates back to the 1996-97 season, when the Crimson won 76-67 in overtime. Penn had previously won 18 of the last 19 meetings against Harvard and leads the all-time series, 113-26.

If Kyle Wente's last second, one-handed desperation three-pointer had not fallen, Harvard would have been the first team since 1987 to sweep Penn and Princeton in consecutive games. Dartmouth also had an opportunity to accomplish the feat this weekend after triumphing 57-56 over Princeton on Friday night, but the Big Green lost to Penn 75-62 on Saturday night.

Individually, Dan Clemente, Andrew Gellert, and Princeton's Wente all contributed to the record-setting weekend. Clemente moved into eighth place on Harvard's all-time scoring list as he continues to add to his 1,375 career points. Gellert did not record a steal against the Tigers, ending a streak of 47 games. Dunphy called Gellert, "the best defensive player in the league." Wente scored a career-high 22 points against Harvard, including 'The Shot' which sent Harvard packing.

'The Shot'

Interestingly, Harvard was well prepared defensively for Princeton's last possession. Coach Frank Sullivan has practiced what he calls, "the seven-second drill" with his team this year. The drill sets up a scenario directly analogous to what Harvard was faced with against Princeton. The idea behind the drill is to construct an aggressive defense without fouling when leading by one or two points with seven seconds remaining in the game.

"I thought we played excellent defense in the last seven seconds of the game," Sullivan said. "We forced [Wente] to shoot an off-balanced prayer. We didn't send him to the free throw line. He made a tremendous shot to end a tremendous Ivy League basketball game."

Princeton coach John Thompson actually constructed the last play to have either senior captain Nate Walton or freshman forward Konrad Wysocki shoot the final shot. Wente, however, realized he would not have time to pass the ball after Gellert initially pressured him around mid-court.

"All I was thinking was to get the ball up court," Wente said. "I knew I had enough time when I took the shot, and the ball felt good when it left my hand."

In a normal situation, Wente probably would not have been on the court at the game's conclusion. Princeton's leading scorer, junior Mike Bechtold (10.4 ppg), has missed Princeton's past three games with a foot injury. Wente replaced Bechtold in Princeton's starting line-up and should continue to command ample playing time after Bechtold returns.

"Kyle has really progressed as a player. He's a huge asset for us," Thompson said, though the coach did admit to thinking about bringing Bechtold into the game despite his injury. "There were times throughout the game when I really wanted to bring Mike in, but I knew it wasn't best for his health," Thompson said.

The Current Ivy Picture

Harvard's weekend split drops the squad two games behind both the Quakers and the Tigers in the loss column. Princeton and Penn will square off against each other tomorrow night, which ensures another loss to one of the two teams. However, realistically, Harvard may have to win all of its remaining Ivy League games in order to win this year's championship. Though Coach Sullivan is content on 'taking one game at a time,' he understands the potential magnitude of Wente's heave on the remainder of Harvard's season.

"One of the things I tell my players is never to handicap the season, but we have our work cut out for us," Sullivan said. "A lot of things can happen in this very even league, but it's clear that we cannot make too many mistakes from here on out."

A heartbreaking 85-83 overtime loss to Yale and a troubling 65-55 defeat at Columbia have positioned Harvard in a position where the team may not be able to control its own destiny even if the Crimson can sweep Penn and Princeton on the road in two weeks. Nevertheless, Harvard gave its two sellout crowds heartfelt performances, proving that the Crimson has the potential not only to compete with but to outplay the league's best. The second half of the season could be wild and crazy, as Harvard looks to earn a birth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1946.