The graveyard of Crimson hopes was packed with the all-too-familiar tombstones—the Wente heave, the double-overtime heartbreaker at Jadwin, the misses by Winter and Prasse-Freeman.

During its 10-game losing streak to Princeton, Harvard had come so close so many times but had met with tragic defeat after tragic defeat.

“We were so close the past couple of years,” senior guard Kevin Rogus said. “To finally come around and get it is a big relief.”

After 38 minutes of back-and-forth action that saw Harvard lead by as many as seven and Princeton forge a five-point advantage, a layup by Tigers center Judson Wallace evened the score at 50 with just over two minutes to go.

The stage was set for another classic Harvard-Princeton finish.

The Crimson immediately responded to the Wallace layup as junior center Brian Cusworth tipped in a missed shot to give Harvard back a two point lead.

Princeton would not go quietly, however, as Venable sank four consecutive free throws to pull his team within two, 56-54, with 26 seconds remaining.

Venable immediately fouled sophomore guard Jim Goffredo on the inbounds play, and Goffredo hit his first attempt from the stripe before missing the second. Venable raced down the floor and settled for a short jumper instead of the three.

The shot was off target, and Cusworth grabbed the board and found Goffredo, who was immediately fouled. Goffredo atoned for his previous trip to the line by sinking both to give the Crimson a 59-54 lead with 10 seconds left.

Still, Princeton wouldn’t quit.

The Tigers raced down the floor and Wallace launched a desperation three from well beyond the arc. The shot splashed through the rim, and Princeton quickly fouled, sending Stehle to the line with four seconds left and the Crimson clinging to a 59-57 lead. Stehle would hit both to clinch the elusive victory for Harvard.

“It feels great,” captain Jason Norman said after the game. “I’m just so happy right now. I can’t even really describe it.”

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.