Two years ago when Harvard rugby Co-Captains Lanny Thorndike and Scott Roberts were sophomores, they watched as Yale rallied from a 16-0 deficit to down Harvard, 17-16, in the final 10 minutes.

Saturday in New Haven, the Elis appeared to be on the verge of putting together another heart-stopping rally.

"We remembered what happened," Roberts said. "We were going to make sure that it didn't happen again."

And it didn't, as Harvard (7-5) outscored Yale, 18-4, in the second half on the way to a 28-8 thumping of the Elis.

The Crimson, which won only two of its last seven games after a 5-0 start, put together its finest performance in over a month to finish the fall season on a positive note.

"It was a good way to end the season," said Thorndike, who led the Crimson effort with two trys.

Tim Perini intercepted a pass and ran 15 yards for a try, and Vaughn Buffalo and Deon Strickland each added short runs to complete the scoring.