M. Hoops Misses Last Shot Vs. Tigers

The Harvard men’s basketball team was eliminated from the Ivy League title hunt on Friday, but that didn’t seem to matter to Brady Merchant the next night against Princeton. The Crimson captain’s clutch three-pointer with 15 seconds left put Harvard on the verge of upsetting its eternal nemesis and, along with his fist-pumping celebration, brought the Lavietes Pavilion crowd to its feet.

Merchant’s heroics were soon forgotten, however, when the Crimson botched its chance at a game-winning shot, giving Princeton yet another narrow victory, 67-66, on Harvard’s home court.

“I want to be Brady Merchant when I grow up,” said Princeton coach John Thompson III. “That kid put on a hell of a show.”

But Merchant’s game-high 22 points were not enough to provide the Crimson (11-12, 3-7 Ivy) with a silver lining to what is shaping up to be a disappointing season. Unless Harvard wins its remaining four games, this season will mark the program’s first in five years with a sub-.500 conference record.

The Crimson showed plenty of heart during its rally against the Tigers, making a comeback that it could never muster against an unyielding Quaker team on Friday. In both games, however, the Crimson’s fate was the same, as its double-digit deficits proved insurmountable.

For the four Crimson seniors, Princeton will go down as the only Ivy team they could never beat.

“Regardless of what’s happened, this game hurts,” Merchant said. “The seniors especially really wanted this game. I made some of the sophomores and freshmen promise me after the game that they’d beat these guys. We’ve come awfully close a couple times and losses like this just hurt.”

Princeton 67, Harvard 66

Princeton (13-9, 7-2) found a way to best the Crimson once again Saturday night, leaving Harvard to wonder what could have changed the outcome of yet another heartbreaking loss.

With 15 seconds left, Merchant hit his second three-pointer in 36 seconds to pull the Crimson to within one. After Princeton’s Will Venable missed the front end of a one-and-one, Harvard regained possession with just 12 seconds to go.

Following a timeout, senior point guard Elliott Prasse-Freeman inbounded the ball to Merchant, who was instantly trapped. Merchant kicked the ball back to Prasse-Freeman, who drove into the lane and put up an off-balance shot that caught the backboard and the rim but would not fall.

“I should have shot the ball when I first caught it,” Prasse-Freeman said. “It’s a play that I’ve already run over in my mind a couple of times, and I probably will a couple more from here on out.”

The Tigers went with a big lineup after the timeout to keep the Crimson from getting an offensive rebound and a second chance to win the game.

“Most of the time it’s not the first shot that beats you,” Thompson said. “It’s the put-back that beats you. I just wanted to make sure that we got the rebound.”

The loss to Princeton was Harvard’s fourth straight at home, and the third in a row that came down to the final shot. The Tigers’ last three wins at Lavietes Pavilion have come by a total of five points.

Princeton held a a double-digit lead with as little as 5:31 to play, but the determined Crimson seniors put forth a resurgent effort to set up the pressure-packed finish. However, Harvard’s 14-4 run to close the game left the seniors just short of gaining their first-ever win over the Tigers.

The highlight of the first half for the Crimson belonged to Merchant. In a 1:15 span, Merchant hit three three-pointers to close a 10-point Princeton lead to just one with 6:44 left before halftime.

Merchant led the team with 22 points, shooting 6-for-9 from three-point range.

The Tigers took a six-point lead into the locker room on the strength of their defense, which held Harvard without a field goal over the final 4:40 of the half.

Princeton shot a staggering 56 percent from the field for the game, taking advantage of easy layup opportunities off its classic backdoor play. Ray Robins finished with 22 points, most of them coming on backcuts that victimized Crimson senior forward Sam Winter.

Harvard stayed close thanks to the Tigers’ poor effort from the charity stripe. Princeton went just 0-for-6 from the line in the second half, and just 3-for-10 on the game.

“We were ahead and held on,” Thompson said. “But we have to make our foul shots.”

The Crimson has lost seven out of its last eight Ivy League games and its last three at home. Harvard must win three of its final four games to post its third consecutive winning season. If the team wins out, it will finish at 7-7 in the Ivies for the fifth consecutive year.

Penn 82, Harvard 66

For the second time this season, the Quakers (17-5, 9-0) put on a shooting clinic at Harvard’s expense. Penn guards Jeff Schiffner and Tim Begley led the attack, combining to make 10 of the team’s 16 three-pointers.

The Crimson handled the potent Quaker interior game well, again containing Penn’s frontcourt tandem of Ugonna Onyekwe and Koko Archibong and outscoring the Quakers 26-10 in the paint. However, the focus on the inside game allowed Penn’s perimeter shooters to get open looks all night. They capitalized, shooting an astounding 52 percent from three-point range.

“I’ve been in the league 12 years now, and I don’t think I’ve seen a team with a better inside-outside combination than this Penn team,” said Harvard coach Frank Sullivan.

For most of the game, the Crimson remained within striking distance of the Quakers, but Penn staved off each Harvard charge.

In the first half, the Crimson was able to pull to within a point with 7:47 left to go on the strength of a 12-3 run.

After the Quakers opened up another big lead late in the half, Prasse-Freeman hit two threes in a 40-second span and Harvard had the ball trailing by just five with less than a minute to go in the half. However, Schiffner hit a three to give Penn a 44-36 advantage and the momentum entering halftime.

The Quakers didn’t let the Crimson get any closer than seven points in the second half. Archibong’s three-pointer with 4:52 to go put Penn ahead 74-61 and finally closed the door on a pesky Harvard squad.

“It didn’t seem like we could get any real good rhythm,” Sullivan said. “They had answers each time there was a spurt.”

Merchant had an uncharacteristic off night, scoring only five points on 2-of-6 shooting. Prasse-Freeman picked up the slack, registering a double-double. He led the Crimson with 13 points and 10 assists.