Harvard Seeks 'Payment'

It’s the type of game that sticks with you for a long time.

Leading 53-50 with just over two seconds remaining, the Harvard men’s basketball team watched New Hampshire freshman Chris Vetrano bank in a three-pointer to tie the game.

The Crimson hung tough after the stunning shot, staying even with the Wildcats over the first 3:32 of overtime, but New Hampshire scored 10 of the final 13 points for a 67-60 victory.

The loss sent Harvard on a three-game losing streak, its longest of the 2004-05 campaign, which included a 92-55 home loss to BU.

Last season’s dramatic finish hasn’t escaped the minds of the Crimson players.

“It’s definitely fair to say that we owe them some payback,” said junior center Brian Cusworth, who led all scorers with 18 points in the overtime loss.

With six of the eight Wildcats players who saw action in that game returning for tonight’s contest, Harvard will get that chance to return the favor.

The key to doing so will be stopping Vetrano, last year’s miracle worker, and junior guard Jermaine Anderson, who led the Wildcats (1-3) with 17 points in that contest.

The backcourt duo should provide a tough challenge for Harvard’s perimeter defense.

“I remember them having really quick guards,” captain Matt Stehle said. “It’s going to be important for us to stop them [in this contest].”

The Crimson (4-0) had its run of the interior in last year’s matchup, as Stehle and Cusworth combined for 33 points, 20 rebounds, five blocks, and three steals. With the tallest New Hampshire player checking in at just 6’8, Harvard should be able to impose its will inside.

That frontcourt strength has just started to live up to the preseason hype: after three games, two guards—junior Jim Goffredo and freshman Drew Housman—ranked in the top three in scoring for the Crimson. But after Stehle and Cusworth’s 35-point combined effort against UC Davis on Sunday, that duo has taken over the second and third slots on the team’s scoring list, respectively.

Entering the season, the backcourt was a huge question mark for Harvard, as all three of the 2004-05 starters were lost to graduation. But the trio of junior Goffredo, freshman Housman, and senior swingman Michael Beal has contributed 35 points per game and cleared away any doubts about the Crimson’s perimeter play.

Housman might be the most surprising member of that backcourt, as he has stepped into the starting point guard role and flourished, averaging 11.5 points and 3.3 assists per contest.

“We feel far more confident in our point guard position right now,” Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said. “And we feel far more confident in our depth right now.”

The 5’11 rookie follows in the footsteps of Elliott Prasse-Freeman ’03 and Tim Hill ’99 as the first-year players who, under Sullivan, have seen consistent starts at the point.

So far, Housman has shown the poise and understanding of the offense befitting a gritty veteran.

“Coach Sullivan has done a pretty good job of introducing the plays slowly, making sure we master one at a time, before introducing a new one,” Housman said.

The Wildcats’ visit to Lavietes Pavilion marks the final contest of an exhausting five game, season-opening road trip.

“That can go one of two ways,” Sullivan said. “It can be an ‘us against them’ mentality, especially with a new coach. Like ‘this is the challenge, and we’re up against a wall’....So I don’t think it’s going to get in their way.”

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.