Four games into the men's basketball season, this much is clear: Harvard fans had better buckle up for the ride.

You want calm, laid-back contests whose outcomes are decided by early in the second half? Forget Harvard. With its lack of dominant scorers or established All-Ivy players, this year's Crimson promises to provide a lot of frenetic, down-to-the-wire games.

Already, the first four contests have provided a glimpse of the rollercoaster ride that could be Harvard's season.

First, a frighteningly tight five-point win over lightly-regarded Babson. Then a five-point overtime loss to heavily-favored Colgate. And finally, on Tuesday, a gut-wrenching four-point loss to Holy Cross as Harvard watched its 21-point second-half lead evaporate in the last 12 minutes.

Exciting? You bet. Comfortable? Well....

"In the two games against Holy Cross and Colgate, we knew that they were really good teams, and so it was okay that we were that close," sophomore Mike Gilmore said. "But of course it'd be more comfortable if we could put the games away earlier. Hopefully that's something we'll improve on."

A Mixed Bag

Heading into its showdown tomorrow at Briggs Cage against Lehigh (1-4), Harvard (2-2) has shown mixed signs as a team. Some areas of play augur a potentially bright future, while others recall a dismal past.

Rebounding is better. Defense is better. Team depth is better.

But free throw Shooting is still bad. So is the assist-to-turnover ratio. And in perhaps the worst resemblance to its recent predecessors, this season's squad has shown that penchant for letting close games slip away.

As starting two-guard Jared Leake said after the Holy Cross contest, "We are a lot better team [than last year. But holding a lead] is something we have to get used to."

According to captain Tarik Campbell, it has to do with mental attitude. "We have a young team this year with a couple of new guys. We need to get to the point where we get the killer instinct. I have no doubt it will come, but I just hope it's sooner rather than later."

Big Men Standing Tall

Among the most pleasant developments for Harvard has been the emergence of two young forwards, sophomore Darren Rankin and freshman Kyle Snowden.

Rankin leads the team in scoring with 14 points per game, with Snowden chipping in 10.8 points per game.