PROVIDENCE, R.I.--Don Fleming sank an 18-foot jumpshot from the right corner with :02 left in the game to give Harvard a 61-60 victory over Brown University under the yellow lights of Marble Gymnasium here last night.
Behind by five points, 60-55, with 1:37 remaining in the contest, the Harvard quintet, sparked by Fleming's outside jumpers and accurate free throw shooting, climber to within one at 60-59 with 1:25 still to show on the clock. The Bruins attempted to run the clock out, playing keep-away from the Crimson by dribbling in circles all over the court.
With a mere 20 seconds left, Glenn Fine committed his fifth personal foul of the game, bringing Dean Erikson (a former junior varsity player promoted to the Brown varsity due to an injury to starting guard Ray Lambert) to the line shooting one-and-one.
Erikson missed the free throw, which bounced way outside toward midcourt, where Harvard's Rob Taylor collided with Bruin Rich Friedman as both dived for the loose ball.
In the hectic seconds that followed, Erikson gained control of the precious sphere, but threw it out of bounds, setting the stage for Fleming's last-second heroics.
"We were just running our offense," Fleming said immediately after the game, "but I really wanted the ball."
"I blocked out the score, and after the ball went in and I realized we were up, my heart just sank," he continued. "As soon as it left my hands, I knew it was in."
The Crimson took control of the contest early, tallying eight points before Brown finally scored after six minutes of play. Harvard's fullcourt press bewildered the Bruins, while Fleming sank two long jumpers to stretch the Crimson lead to 16-8 with 12:16 remaining in the period.
Bob Hooft (21 points) then dropped in a running one-hander and the Crimson gained its largest advantage of the first half, 18-8.
But the Bruins came back--fast. In less than four minutes, the efforts of Peter Moss, Brown's top scorer, and Chuck Mack (the duo accounted for 23 of Brown's 27 first-half points) pulled Brown to within two, 18-16 with 7:32 still left before intermission.
Harvard's co-captains, Hooft and Fine, put the offense back in gear by connecting on both ends of three one-and-one opportunities.
For the final 2:33 of the stanza, Harvard switched to the four corners stall offense, with Fine controlling the ball in the middle. Although unable to score off the four corners, the Crimson held on to a slim 30-27 lead as the teams broke for the dressing room.
Moss threw in four straight baskets as the final period began giving Brown a 40-38 lead with 15:32 left to play. Harvard did not possess the advantage again until the visitors claimed the victory with two seconds on the clock.
"It was nice to see the tables turned for a change," coach Frank McLaughlin said afterward. "A lot can happen in a few minutes."
RIM RAMBLINGS: Brown's Mack has had a fine season this year after missing the '77-'78 schedule when he had both legs crushed in a car accident. Fine now ranks second in the Ivy League assists column, averaging 5.8 a game. Columbia's Alton Byrd (6.8) leads the league.
Hooft also ranks high in the Ivy stats, standing fourth in the rebounding department with 8.1 a game. Cornell's Mike Davis and Yale's Tim Daaleman lead that category with 9.2 per game, while Penn's Tony Price has 8.4.
Price also leads the Ivies in scoring with an 18.9 average. Score by Periods Harvard30-31--61 Brown 27-33--60
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