Tripped UpState

ITHACA, N.Y.-Harvard’s captain could only look on from the bench in agony as his Cornell counterpart rose up beyond the three-point line and ripped the most important game of the season away from the Crimson.

After Matt Stehle’s 27-point effort was cut short due to five personal fouls, Big Red captain Lenny Collins buried two three-pointers in the last 1:14 to tie the game at 77, completing Cornell’s comeback from a seven-point deficit. In the game’s final seconds, however, it was a Lenny Collins miss that sealed the Crimson’s fate, as the Cornell senior forward’s winning bid from the left baseline hit off the side of the backboard and caromed right into the hands of forward Jason Hartford. Left uncontested beneath the basket, Hartford put back a shot that hovered on top of the rim for a split second before falling through the hoop, giving Cornell (9-11, 4-2 Ivy) a 79-77 lead with 2.4 seconds to play.

After inbounding the ball from under the Cornell basket, the best Harvard could manage was a futile mid-court heave from junior guard Ko Yada. As the shot fell harmlessly short and the final buzzer sounded, a group of jubilant Cornell fans rushed the court to congratulate Collins and his teammates. The stunning turnaround prevented the Crimson (12-7, 4-2) from accomplishing its first road sweep since 2000, and dealt a devastating blow to the team’s chances of catching unbeaten Penn for the Ivy League title.

“It actually is probably the toughest [loss] of my career, especially with the significance of it,” senior forward Mike Beal said. “We definitely should have won this game. Let it slip away.”

Stehle’s foul-out with three minutes left was followed on the next possession by the early exit of senior center Brian Cusworth on an over-the-back call. Freshman guard Drew Housman became the third Harvard player with five fouls when he was whistled for a reach-in on Lenny Collins, who hit two from the line to cut Harvard’s lead to 73-71 with 2:07 left.

“[The foul-outs were a] momentum shift-that was, ‘it’s time to take advantage of it, it’s time to go, time to put the dagger in,’” Hartford said.

Junior Brian Darcy dumped in a jump hook as the shot clock expired to widen the advantage to four, but then Collins took control. Double-teamed on the wing, with Yada literally draped over his back and Beal hounding him from the front, Collins leaned in for a sliver of daylight and knocked down the off-balance three. Junior guard Jim Goffredo drew a foul and hit two free throws on the other end, putting the Crimson back up 77-74. However, Collins got the ball again from the same spot on the floor, and this time got a better look at the basket to tie the score.

“As the captain, I feel like it’s my responsibility down the stretch to give us the push over the edge to help us win,” Collins said. “If we were going to win or lose, it was going to be on my shoulders, so I wanted to get the shots.”

Despite Collins’ clutch play, Harvard had the ball with 36 seconds left and the chance to take the last shot in regulation. Beal held the ball near the Harvard bench before attempting to hand off to Goffredo, but Cornell point guard Graham Dow reached a hand in to confound the exchange, leading to a turnover that set up the wrenching finish.

Trailing by three at halftime, Harvard fell behind by eight out of the break before beginning its own comeback. After a layup by Stehle put the Crimson ahead at 46-45 with 14:35 to play, the teams began a wild stretch of trading baskets in which the lead was tied on five separate occasions. Harvard took a 58-56 advantage on Stehle’s put-back of a loose ball, and Housman concluded a 12-5 run with a driving three-point play that gave the Crimson a 68-61 lead, its largest before the Big Red chipped away with a 23-36 night from the foul line.

Collins finished with 20 points—eight of which came in the final 2:07—to lead Cornell.

Guard Adam Gore added 15 points ,and forward Andrew Naeve finished with 10 and 12 rebounds. The devastating loss for Harvard took the focus away from several outstanding individual performances—chiefly from Stehle, who tied a career high with 27 points and added 12 rebounds.

Goffredo finished with 20 points. Beal had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.

Cornell’s win was made even more emotional because of the neck injury that sophomore Khaliq Gant suffered in practice on Tuesday, Jan. 24. The Big Red has now won both games played since the injury to Gant, who is being treated at Atlanta’s Shepard Spinal Clinic.

“The past two weeks have been pretty unbelievable, but getting an emotional win like this against one of the top teams in the league, the way we did it was something I’ll remember for a long time,” Collins said. “If us playing hard and winning some games is going to uplift [Gant’s] spirits, we’re going to do all we can to win for him.”

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