NEW HAVEN, Conn.—A season of last-minute agony came to a head on Saturday night for the Harvard men’s basketball team, as the Crimson’s quest for a comeback victory in New Haven was ended by Yale, 54-53.

“Our locker room is probably hurting as much as any locker room we’ve had at Harvard,” coach Frank Sullivan said. “We lost by two at Columbia, lost by three at Dartmouth, and now [we] lose by one to Yale in a very emotionally charged game...our guys are hurting.”

Harvard (9-12, 4-4 Ivy) had three shots at the game-winning basket in the final nine seconds. Senior point guard David Giovacchini missed a baseline jumper, and senior guard Kevin Rogus’s follow from the elbow glanced off the front iron. After Yale (7-12, 3-3) guard Edwin Draughan was fouled with five seconds remaining and missed the front end of a one-and-one, Giovacchini raced up court with the Crimson’s last chance, but could only toss up an off-balance heave at the buzzer that was partially blocked.

“This is what Ivy basketball is all about,” Yale coach James Jones said. “The teams are pretty evenly matched talent-wise, and every possession matters.”

Harvard maintained a 53-52 lead with 2:28 showing on the clock, but Yale held the ball for over a minute on its ensuing possession, grabbing two offensive rebounds before Harvard fouled center Dominick Martin. Martin, who entered the game shooting .576 from the stripe, sank a pair of free throws with 1:21 left—the final points of the contest.

“In the Ivy League, all games are intense,” Martin said. “This is pretty much fighting for your life here...you either win or go home.”

In a game that was marked by alternating runs, Yale blitzed Harvard by scoring the first 12 points of the contest, and went ahead by as much as 19-6. Six straight points from junior forward Matt Stehle calmed the team down, however, and Harvard was able to trim the lead to 32-27 at halftime.

“[It was] encouraging to see our guys take a good shot from Yale to start the game and then not fall down,” Sullivan said.

The Crimson came all the way back in the second half, and grabbed a four-point lead, 41-37, with 13:05 to play.

“We knew we could compete with them,” junior center Brian Cusworth said. “We were patient, played the game at our pace, and were able to get our rhythm going and get back into the game.”

Yale responded with a commanding 13-0 spurt, highlighted by seven points from freshman guard Eric Flato, which gave the Bulldogs back a nine-point lead with 6:53 remaining.

But with the boisterous crowd of 1,884 at John J. Lee Amphitheater on its feet, Harvard refused to let its postseason hopes slip away so easily. The Crimson reeled off a 10-0 run of its own, capped by a hook shot from Cusworth that gave the lead back to Harvard and set up the dramatic finish.

“Both squads did a tremendous job in bouncing back and fighting through streaks,” Sullivan said.

Yale guard Edwin Draughan got the Bulldogs early run going with a dunk off the opening tap, and scored six of Yale’s 12 unanswered points to start the game. At halftime, he led all players with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists, and also provided the perimeter defense that held Rogus scoreless.

“Edwin was phenomenal in the first half,” Jones said. “He did a great job on the defensive end—he has a lot of energy, a lot of hop.”

Draughan tired in the second half, finishing with a game-high 13 points. He was picked up on the offensive end, however, by Flato, who came off the bench to match Draughan’s 13-point effort on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-7 from downtown.

“The difference in the game was Eric Flato,” Sullivan said. “We had a tough time guarding him.”

Flato and Martin carried Yale in the second half, as the duo combined to score 17 of the Bulldogs 22 points after the break. Martin, who finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, made several crucial baskets in the low post to help Yale reclaim the lead.

Harvard, which shot only 32 percent on the night, kept it close by hitting 13-of-15 from the line. Cusworth hit all six of his free throws and led the Crimson with 12 points, while Giovacchini added 11 and Stehle had eight and a game-high 15 rebounds. Rogus, who played with eight stitches above his right eye after getting cut in Friday’s win at Brown, finished with six points on 2-of-12 shooting.

“We could have used one or two [more] makes from him,” Sullivan said. “Yale had a bead on him, more so than other teams we’ve played recently.”

The loss dealt a fatal blow to the team’s chance to advance to postseason play for the first time since 1946.

“We were really looking forward to picking up a win here and stepping into second place,” Cusworth said. “We made a hell of a fight...the game could have gone either way.”

—Staff writer Caleb W. Peiffer can be reached at cpeiffer@fas.harvard.edu.