After battling back from a nine-point halftime deficit, the Harvard men's basketball team's gritty performance Saturday night was torpedoed by the sharp shooting of Navy point guard Chris Williams.

With just four seconds left on the clock, Williams nailed a 10-foot jump shot in heavy traffic to give the Midshipmen (4-3) a dramatic 85-83 victory over the Crimson (3-2).

Williams dribbled into the high post, where sophomore point guard Drew Gellert picked him up and jumped to block his shot. But Williams switched to his left hand in midair and flipped the game-winner around Gellert's outstretched arms.

"Drew had Chris covered," Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan said. "And he made a great defensive play. He forced Chris to adjust his shot in midair and take the shot with his left hand. Chris just made a great elevated shot. It was as simple as that."

Gellert had one last chance to steal a win for the Crimson, but at the buzzer, his desperation shot from just inside halfcourt bounced wide.

After trailing throughout the first half, a different Harvard team came out of the locker room after halftime and fought its way into a see-saw battle that saw eight lead changes in the final six minutes of the game.

"I think we played well," Sullivan said. "In the second half we showed excellent character and made some great plays."

It was the third straight game in which the Crimson scored 50 or more points in the second half, and its second loss of those three.