Though not widely considered a college basketball juggernaut, the Harvard men's basketball team had no trouble thwarting the X-Men yesterday.

The Crimson, ranked third in the preseason Ivy League polls, defeated St. Francis Xavier of Nova Scotia in an exhibition game at Lavietes Pavilion, 79-62. A modest--and mostly Canadian--crowd watched Xavier play the Crimson tough in the first half, only to be completely overwhelmed by an effective half-court zone in the second.

Harvard met a minor scare seven minutes into the game when sophomore point guard Elliott Prasse-Freeman, who led the Ivy League in assists last year, left the court with a mild ankle sprain.

Prasse-Freeman sat out the rest of the game for precautionary reasons. Fortunately, in a game that didn't matter, neither did the floor general's absence.

"One of the best things to come out of this game was that we showed we could play extended minutes without Elliott," Head Coach Frank Sullivan said.

Prasse-Freeman's backcourt partner, junior Andrew Gellert, took over at the point in his absence. The offense wasn't always smooth, but Gellert did have six assists. He also displayed the quick hands of the guard who led the Ivy League in steals a year ago, snagging five.

Sophomore Pat Harvey was another bright spot for the Crimson. The 5'10 sophomore, who sat out last year after being a role player in 1998-99, started the game as the third guard in a three-guard alignment.

Harvey quickly shook off whatever rust he had accumulated last year and erupted for 20 points, including eight that keyed a decisive two-minute stretch.