They were two very different endings to a very different season.
Friday night, in one of the worst games of the season, entertainment-wise and skill-wise, the Crimson shot 37 percent from the field and 29 percent from the foul line in a 80-60 loss at the hands of Brown.
Saturday night, in one of the best games of the season, entertainment-wise and skill-wise, the Crimson shot 56 percent from the field and 93 percent from the line, and still lost, 82-78, to second-place Yale.
Two different games, same result. A last-weekend sweep for the third consecutive season. Few would be able to tell that Harvard--which finished in a four-way tie for third place four games behind league champion Princeton--still harbored Ivy title hopes entering this weekend. Even fewer would be able to tell based on the way Harvard played.
"Me and my assistants felt that the attitude was not good before the game," Harvard Coach Peter Roby said after Friday's loss. "We still had a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament. How can you not play hard? How can you not go into the game wanting to rip someone's head off?"
1000? That's a Lot, Coach:Brown senior forward Art Jackson did his best impersonation of Darryl Dawkins Friday with an attempted power slam near the end of the game.
Unfortunately for the Bruins and their faithful at the Pizzitola Memorial Sports Center, Jackson back-rimmed the dunk and then looked woefully at his coach.
And for good reason.
"We have a policy here," Brown Coach Mike Cingiser said. "You can dunk anytime. If you miss, you owe me 1000 laps."
What a way to end your collegiate career--running laps.
If I May Be Modest: Discussing the accomplishments of his Bruins team, which recorded its eighth Ivy record of .500 or better in the 36 years Brown has participated in the league, Cingiser noted that five of the previous seven teams who accomplished the feat included two of the best players in Brown history.
"Who's the best player ever to play at Brown?" Cingiser asked a faithful Bruin reporter.
"Phil Brown."
"Right, and he was on three of those teams," Cingiser said. "Now, who was the second-best player ever to play at Brown?"
"Peter Moss."
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