Free throw shooting had never been a Crimson strength. Yale's success at the line (82.8 percent) may have proved the difference down the stretch versus Harvard's dismal 67.7 percent shooting from the stripe.

"Their ability not only to score but to make their free throws were significant factors in the game," Sullivan said. "We're a bit disconcerted by the fact that we didn't shoot the ball well and again I give Yale a ton of credit."

Notably absent from the Crimson attack was Clemente, who had torched the Elis for 18 points last season when the Crimson defeated Yale 70-51 at Lavietes Pavilion. On Friday, the star forward played only 24 minutes, hitting 1-of-7 three pointers while in foul trouble most of the evening. Several close calls went against him and he fouled out with 4:35 left in the second half.

"The referees have been told to cut down on hand-checking, I thought we were a step slow defensively tonight, and we were putting our hands on people way too much," Sullivan said, noting that Sigafoos and Winter also fouled out later in the game.

Yale defeated Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H. on Saturday and is tied with Penn and Princeton at 2-0 in the Ivy League. Harvard, right behind at 3-1 in conference play, takes some time off for exams and plays Hartford on Jan. 29th before traveling to Cornell and Columbia to continue Ivy play.