DALLAS, Texas--David slew Goliath with good shooting.
So did the Harvard men's basketball team (7-4, 1-0 Ivy) slay a bigger, stronger Dartmouth team and fall a tenth of a second short of an upset, victory over Southern Methodist (SMU) in two of the four games it played over the holiday break.
The Crimson played evenly with the Big Green before settling into cruise control in the second half to win the inaugural game of the Ivy League season, 80-55.
Then, after a disappointing 80-65 loss to Navy at Lavietes Pavilion, Harvard journeyed to the Lone Star State. Texas-Arlington was not ready for the bombs Harvard's shooters packed with them, as it was massacred by the Crimson, 73-56, on Dec. 28.
SMU squeaked out its 10th straight victory two days later, as it beat Harvard 81-80 on a gutsy three-pointer by sophomore point guard Stephen Woods in the waning seconds.
HARVARD 80, Dartmouth 55
For the first time in three seasons, Harvard opened its Ivy schedule with a win. It did so in convincing fashion, as junior point guard Tim Hill's 18 points paced all scorers in the blowout win.
"We were very focused coming into this game," Hill said. "The past two years we've lost to Dartmouth our first game, so we wanted this game pretty badly."
Harvard held just a five point lead, 36-31, at halftime, but stellar shooting--51.7 percent for the game--and Dartmouth turnovers late in the game made it a laugher. Dartmouth (2-10, 0-1) totaled just nine assists to its 15 turnovers.
"I think our pressure might have fatigued them a little bit and that didn't help their cause in the second half," Hill said.
The Crimson still held just a five-point lead, 48-43, with 11:43 to go in the second half, but freshman Dan Clemente's baseline jumper ignited Harvard on a 12-0 run over the next 4:07. The Harvard scoring blitz included two Crimson steals and three-pointers by captain Mike Scott--who scored 15 points--and junior Mike Beam, who added 13 on five-of-seven shooting. Harvard hit 13 of its last 15 shots to put several nails into Dartmouth's coffin. "We had two poor shooting games against B.U. and Northeastern," said Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan. "We tried to get everybody to relax and not make a big deal out of it, but in the backs of our minds the coaches were a bit concerned." "We're a good shooting ballclub," Hill said. "We just have to play with confidence." Harvard will face the Big Green again tonight. Confidence may be the key to victory, but it can also lead to the dreaded letdown. "Coach is preparing us to expect anything," Clemente said. "Their backs are up against the wall. Just because they have a bad record doesn't mean we can just lie down." SMU 81, Harvard 80 Harvard faced its most physically endowed opponent of the season Dec.30 and, despite being completely dominated inside and being outrebounded 40-24, the Crimson almost pulled off an exciting upset. When Woods brought the ball upcourt down 80-78 with the shot clock turned off, it looked like Harvard had a comeback victory--or at least overtime--wrapped up. But with 12 seconds to go in the game, Woods--who had hit just two of nine shots--pulled up near the left wing and nailed a three-pointer to give the Mustangs a one-point lead. Hill then raced downcourt with the clock winding down and hoisted a wild shot from the left corner. It clanged off the front of the rim, but Fisher corralled the rebound and came up short on a lay-up. Astoundingly, junior guard Mike Beam grabbed a second offensive rebound--Harvard had only seven all game--but his lay-up left his hand a fraction of a second after the final buzzer sounded. "Losing that game was the worst feeling in the world," Clemente said. "Guys were just ready to play. There wasn't a guy on the team who didn't give it his all." Harvard shot 56.6 percent from the field, including more than 60 percent in the second half and an amazing 14-for-21 from beyond the three-point arc in the heartbreaker. The Crimson's mind-boggling shooting and outright hustle was all it had to keep it in the game against the goliath Mustangs. After entering the half with a 38-35 lead, SMU maintained a modest lead throughout much of the second frame. The Mustangs led 74-68 with three minutes remaining when the end-of-game fireworks began. With the shot clock winding down due to Harvard's inability to get the ball into the paint, Fisher hit a jumper from the left wing to cut SMU's lead to four. Then, as Woods took the ball leisurely upcourt, Scott poked it away and scored on a fast break. On the Mustangs' next trip down the floor, Hill pulled off the identical feat to tie the game at 74. "If we can get defensive rebounds or turnovers and get it into Tim Hill's hands, it just invigorates the team," Sullivan said. To the amazement of all, Hill pulled off yet another robbery once the Mustangs got the ball back. He missed the breakaway lay-up, but Fisher snared the rebound and put it back in. The Crimson led by as many as three points with 48.9 seconds left. "After the three steals, I really thought we were going to win," Clemente said. "That just doesn't happen. It was like it was meant to be." Hill scored 18 points and added nine assists, and Clemente scored 20 and hit four three-pointers. Beam was a perfect four-of-four from downtown. Harvard 73, UT-Arlington 56 Coming off of losses in three of its last four games, the Crimson mustered a 10-0 run against the Mavericks (4-7) and barely looked back. The Crimson took a 33-25 lead into halftime and maintained a comfortable lead for most of the second half. "We weren't ready to play," said UTA Coach Eddie McCarter. "We couldn't even run out offense. We weren't crisp at all." The Mavericks pulled within eight points midway through the second half but would get no closer. After guard Gabe Isaac buried a short baseline jumper with 9:30 to go in the game, Clemente responded with one of his two three-pointers with the shot clock about to expire. That started Harvard on an 11-2 run from which UTA never recovered. Harvard played well on both ends of the court, outrebounding the Mavericks 48-31 and holding them to only 37.1 percent shooting while committing just 11 fouls all game. UTA's first free throw did not come until just over three minutes remained in the game. "Coach kept drilling defense and rebounding into our heads," Clemente said. "They're a really quick team and they're a good one-on-one team, but we just played great team defense." Mike Scott poured in 17 to lead four Crimson scorers in double digits and Paul Fisher and Dan Clemente each notched a double-double. Navy 80, Harvard 65 It was close until the end. When Harvard staked out a 20-9 lead over Navy (5-6) in front of a modest-sized crowd at Lavietes, it looked like it would ride the wave from the second half against Dartmouth to its seventh win of the season. But the Midshipmen stormed back, taking advantage of poor Harvard shooting to take a 35-32 lead at the half. After hitting on eight-of-10 to start the game, the Crimson closed out the half by hitting just five-of-23 shots from the floor. Harvard tied the game just after the half, but an 8-0 Navy run early in the second saw to it that the Crimson would never see another lead. Two shots from the charity stripe by Scott brought the Crimson within five with just over eight minutes to go, but the Midshipmen mounted a 9-0 run late in the second half to break the game open and hand the Crimson the 15-point loss. Notes * The game between Harvard and Colgate scheduled for Dec. 20 was canceled due to the death of Red Raiders Coach Jack Bruen. * Clemente has received four of five Ivy League Rookie of the Week awards this season. The freshman forward averages 13.0 points and 6.5 rebounds through 11 games. * Harvard's next home game is January 27 against Hartford, its only remaining non-league contest. Its next home Ivy matchup is not until February 6, against Penn.
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