But critical to Woodbine's game was the ability to sink the three. Entering the game, Woodbine had made just 10-of-42 attempts from three-point range, but hit 5-of-8 against the Crimson. Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan said his team challenged Woodbine to make his outside shots in the first half, when he scored 17.

Harvard's first indication that the Yale-Brown road trip wouldn't be a cakewalk came Friday afternoon, when a shutdown of I-91 outside Hartford made the Crimson's bus several hours late to New Haven. The game's start was delayed by an hour.

Sullivan and the Crimson got another unpleasant surprise Saturday night at Brown, as the Bears' Hunt exploded for 30 points in the first half, breaking down man coverage and slipping through the cracks when the Crimson switched to zone.

Like Woodbine, Hunt entered the game shooting just 25.9 percent from three-point range, but converted on 4-of-5 in the first half. Brown made 9-of-20 three-pointers on the night.

"This is the first look we've had at Brown, and they're a different team," Sullivan said. "We had seen a lot of them on tape, but we had to see it live."

So did I. Believing that the Bears, whom Harvard beat 112-54 in the last game of the 1997-98 season, were serious took a leap of faith. Earl Hunt and his game-high 39 points helped me make it. After scoring 19 points with nine rebounds and five assists in Brown's 79-63 win over Dartmouth on Friday, Hunt is establishing himself as a real threat.

"We were acutely aware of the variety of aspects to his game," Sullivan said. "Tonight, he was an all-league player."