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.

With Harvard up by only two three minutes into the second half, Gellert found Harvey at the free-throw line extended. Harvey made the open jumper. He hit a wide open three-pointer on the ensuing possession after Xavier scored at the other end.

After the X-Men turned the ball over at the other end, Harvey went to work again. He dribbled into the lane and released a driving eight-footer as he made contact with Xavier's James Maksymiw.

Both the shot and the free throw that followed were good, and Harvard was on top, 55-47.

"It's not easy, making a return after a year of not playing college basketball on any level," Sullivan said. "It's good to see that he could do that well for us."

For a while, it looked like it wouldn't even get that interesting. The Crimson opened the game with a relentless full-court press that forced Xavier to cough up the ball on each of its first five possessions. Harvard jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first two minutes.

However, the X-Men fought back valiantly. Fourth-year guard Jordan Croucher led the charge, swiping the ball away from Prasse-Freeman and leading a successful fast break that reduced Harvard's lead to one. Croucher had 16 points and two steals in the first half, and the Crimson led by only two at the half, 42-40.

Since Xavier had solved the press after Harvard's initial run, the Crimson abandoned it entirely in the second half. Focusing its defense on the half court proved effective, as Croucher was no longer able to wreak havoc on the fly. Harvard held him to four second-half points, and the final score approached the blowout that seemed likely in the game's early stages.

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.