The spring semester is here and, for most of us just returning from a relaxing intersession, everything is fairly normal.
That is, with one glaring exception. The Harvard men's basketball team (11-5, 3-1 Ivy), picked to finish sixth in the Ivies, is winning games. The Crimson, for the first time in a long time, is giving the fans something to cheer about.
Tuesday night in Durham, New Hampshire, was no exception.
Harvard, playing their first game in 17 days, beat the New Hampshire Wildcats (4-14) 66-61 in dramatic fashion.
The Crimson was slow getting out of the starting gate; the team did not seize their first lead until nearly 18 minutes into the game. From that point on, however, Harvard never trailed.
The Crimson built a 10-point lead, 51-41, at the 12 minute mark of the second half, but was unable to put the game away.
UNH scored seven unanswered points and finally pulled within two with under two minutes remaining. Harvard held off the rally and was able to ice the game with solid free-throw shooting down the stretch.
"Like any good team, we found a way to win. We pulled it out," freshmen phenom Tim Hill said.
The game was the squad's final tune-up for the heart of their Ivy league schedule which gets underway on Friday night at Yale.
While the Tuesday game was a win, it was by no means a perfect game for the team.
"We didn't shoot the ball very well at all. We got off to a very slow start because we were rusty from not playing a game in so long," Hill added.
The rust that Hill referred to was quite evident as the Crimson made just 19 of 52 shots from the field, a dismal 36 percent.
However, Harvard made up for their poor shooting by playing strong fundamental basketball defensively and controlling the tempo of the game.
The Crimson held Matt Alosa, the Wildcats' leading scorer, to just one field goal in the first-half and only 15 points overall.
Harvard also out-rebounded their opponents by an incredible 41 to 29 margin.
Junior Kyle Snowden led the Crimson with a game-high 20 points, while Hill and junior David Demian added 12 each in the win.
Winning is something that the Crimson have been doing a lot of lately, a stark contrast to last years 4-20 squad.
"This is just a totally different atmosphere from last year's team," sophomore center Paul Fisher said. "We are definitely happy with how we have done, but as the season progresses we are gaining momentum and setting higher and higher goals for ourselves."
The team now seems quite committed to the once unrealistic goal of an Ivy League championship and a trip to the NCAA tournament.
So, the Crimson must now turn its focus to the major Ivy League portion of their schedule which begins at Yale and Brown this weekend.
As for preparation, the consensus among the Crimson is that the players seem intent on playing their game.
"We are not that concerned with what they do. If we play our game, then, hopefully, we will come out with two victories," Fisher added. UNH: Cirnino 2-5 0-0 4; Alosa 6-18 3-5 15; Jackson 0-1 0-0 1; Eusebio 0-2 0-0 0; Provost 3-3 1-1 7; Wilson 3-8 4-6 12; Matteson 2-4 2-4 6; Acres 6-11 2-4 15; Rossi 0-0 0-0 0; Hibbs 1-1 0-0 2. TOTALS 23-53 12-20 61. HARVARD: Demian 2-4 7-8 12; Hill 4-8 3-6 12; Gilmore 2-11 1-2 6; Scott 1-3 1-1 3; Snowden 6-12 8-8 20; Grancio 0-3 1-2 1; Fisher 0-2 0-0 0; Rankin 2-6 0-0 4. TOTALS: 19-52 23-29 66.
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