Facing the two most formidable big men in Penn junior Geoff Owens and Princeton freshman Chris Young, Ewing was very nearly Harvard's first, last and only line of defense against interior assault. Two weeks ago, Owens won the battle of the boards, and Young nearly single-handedly battered the Crimson into submission with 17 first-half points.

This week, Ewing did everything that could be asked of a starting center, much less one impressed into duty by Fisher's illness. Ewing was judicious yet active on the offensive end, and his 17 rebounds on the weekend are indication that he did stood his ground against more sizeable opposition.

Hill was typical, which is to say, superb. In addition to breaking Harvard's all-time assists record with 14 on the weekend, the senior slashed hard into the defense and exhibited judgement that was a wonder to watch.

After Hill got in foul trouble on Friday night, those in attendance got a rare chance to see just how important Hill presence is. The point guard played 82 minutes over the weekend, but when he left the court for three minutes against Penn, the Quakers took it to the replacement Gellert immediately.

That Harvard saw its six-point lead transform into a two-point deficit is proof enough. When Hill lost the floor, Harvard's control over the game was notably diminished.

It was largely due to Hill's floor generalship that Princeton Coach Bill Carmody said, "Harvard controlled the game tonight. It was theirs from the outset."

Mike Beam, who was kept on the bench due to foul trouble much of Saturday night and who has been eclipsed by the emerging freshmen at times in the past month, scored all 11 of his points against Princeton in the final 7:30 of regulation and overtime. Beam worked without the basketball to get in the offensive flow, then drained consecutive threes to open the overtime period and put Harvard up for good.