Junior forward Dan Clemente scored five of his 23 points in the first two minutes of the second half. The junior forward also finished the game with 11 rebounds, including three on the offensive end.

Clemente and sophomore Sam Winter manned the middle in Harvard's small lineup. Sullivan may have to play small ball a lot this year since forward Tim Coleman will sit out the season for academic reasons.

Although Xavier's height problems made starting to 6'6 forwards something the Crimson could get away with anyway, Sullivan was encouraged by the results.

"Dan did a great job on the boards for us," Sullivan said. "We're going to miss Tim this year, and it's good that he was able to step up there."

Similar Clemente performances in the paint can't be counted on, however, and the Crimson's more conventional inside players played with mixed results.

Sophomore center Onnie Mayshak came off the bench, contributing four points and three rebounds in 13 minutes. He displayed some flashes of brilliance under the basket, but also experienced periods when he seemed lost in the post. Fellow sophomore Brian Sigafoos, the Crimson's tallest player at 6'11, and 6'8 freshman Kam Walton, played a combined 4 uneventful minutes.

"We have a few guys who are capable of filling the gap in the low post," Sullivan said. "But Tim was fifth in the conference in rebounding last year. It's a big loss."

Whether the Crimson can overcome that loss will become apparent very soon. Harvard's first regular season game will be Nov. 21, at home against Holy Cross.