SEASON RECAP: Men's Basketball

Looking only at the beginning and end of the 2004-05 season, one could be excused for thinking the Harvard men’s basketball team had not improved from the previous year. Still, in between those discouraging bookends—a poor showing in early non-league play and double-digit losses at both Princeton and Penn to close out the schedule—the Crimson was able to piece together a solid 7-7 Ivy League campaign, and spark the resurgence of Harvard basketball.

“It’s going to be a lot different than last year,” junior forward Matt Stehle said before the season started. “No one’s really going to look out for us, and we’re going to surprise some people.”

The Crimson, attempting to regroup after a 4-23 season, the team’s worst in over 50 years, came close to surprising then-No. 20 Notre Dame in South Bend to kick off the season, but lost a tough 66-59 decision. Harvard then dropped three of its next four games to move to 1-5, a start that was beginning to evoke memories of last season’s 0-11 opening.

The Crimson’s fifth defeat was its worst of the year, a 37-point loss to Boston University at home Dec. 7, which was eerily reminiscent of the 86-42 defeat suffered the season before. Harvard then began to wake up, winning three of its next four games. Victories over Colgate, Lehigh, and Long Island gave the team confidence heading into the all-important Ivy schedule—the “14-game playoff”—where virtually every game has title implications.

Dartmouth, up first on the Ivy docket, split a home-and-home series with the Crimson, which then beat Sacred Heart in its final non-league game. Heading into the annual January break for exam period, the team carried an overall record of 6-9.

In the first game after exams, Harvard showed flashes of its ability in a 74-65 victory against Cornell in Ithaca. Having taken care of the tougher New York team, the Crimson then fell in the final seconds to an inferior Columbia squad, 57-55, as Stehle’s tip at the buzzer failed to drop. The team returned home and lost 70-57 to eventual league champion Penn, putting Harvard on the verge of a crippling fourth league loss.

The season became interesting again the following night, however, as the Crimson held on to beat Princeton in a thrilling back-and-forth affair, 61-57. The victory snapped the Tigers’ 10-game winning streak over Harvard, and was just the Crimson’s second over Princeton in the past 15 seasons.

“We were so close the past couple of years,” senior guard Kevin Rogus said after beating the Tigers for the first time in his career. “To finally come around and get it is a big relief.”

Harvard picked up another momentous win the following weekend, beating Brown on the road, 64-53, for the first time since 1999. That win sent the Crimson into New Haven still on the fringes of the Ivy race. Harvard was nearly knocked out of Yale’s gym in the early going, but rallied to stay within striking distance. The Crimson had three shots at the game winner in the final seconds, but was unable to avert a 54-53 Bulldogs victory.

“Our locker room is probably hurting as much as any locker room we’ve had at Harvard,” coach Frank Sullivan said after the defeat.

Although the loss at Yale effectively ended Harvard’s postseason chances and prevented a move into second place behind Penn, the team fought hard in its final homestand. After beating Columbia and losing a tight game to second place Cornell, Harvard moved to 7-5 in the league with two impressive double-digit wins—a 16-point victory over Yale, and a 12-point decision against Brown, the first time the team swept a weekend series since 2002.

“It’s a big testament to what this team has done,” said senior David Giovacchini after the senior night win over Brown. “Being 4-23 last year to going where we are now, that’s a big step.”

Entering the last series of the year against Princeton and Penn, Harvard had the chance to break .500 in the league for the first time since 1997, but instead dropped both games in the hostile gyms of their top rivals for the 14th consecutive year. Despite missing that opportunity, Harvard finished the year with its best record since 2002 at 12-15 and 7-7 Ivy, good for third a year after placing seventh.

Stehle, named team MVP, led the Crimson with 13.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He and junior center Brian Cusworth (13.4 points, 8.4 rebounds) will be relied on even more heavily next season as the team’s only returning starters. The Crimson is graduating three-fifths of its starting rotation—point guard Giovacchini, named the team’s most improved player after finishing third in the league in assists, shooting guard Rogus, who added 9.9 points per game, and captain Jason Norman, the defensive stopper.

“I’ve already set my goal for next season...to see our name in the [NCAA tournament] bracket,” Stehle said. “Everyone is going to expect a lot from us next year.”

—Staff writer Caleb W. Peiffer can be reached at cpeiffer@fas.harvard.edu.