The Harvard-Princeton rivalry has seen its fair share of drama over the past four years at Lavietes Pavilion. In 2006, the Tigers came back from a 59-53 deficit over the final 1:17 of play to win on a last second jumper, 60-59. Last year, the Crimson used a 20-8 run in the last seven minutes to force overtime and steal a victory.

Suffice it to say, the Harvard faithful have seen their team’s greatest highs and lowest lows when Princeton comes to town.

After a devastating 77-71 loss Saturday night, the Crimson (9-9, 1-3 Ivy) is as close as it’s ever been to being down and out.

Expectations were high coming into the weekend, as Harvard was poised to vault itself into the upper echelons of the Ivy standings. After two crippling defeats, the team is left guessing what to do next.

“It’s almost like we need to [re-]learn how to win,” senior guard Drew Housman said. “We’re always expecting a close game. We need to play hard for [the full] forty minutes and let the rest follow.”

The story of the game was defense—or lack thereof. Coming into Saturday, Princeton had only mustered sixty points in five of its 14 matchups. In scoring 77, the squad easily eclipsed its season average.

Yet the game was still undecided with seven minutes to play, as Harvard took its last lead at 56-54 with two free throws by freshman Keith Wright.

From that point on, Harvard couldn’t buy a stop. With the exception of a ten-second violation forced by Housman and two missed free throws, Princeton scored on every trip down court to close out the contest. It posted a 23-15 run to finish the game.

“They hit some tough shots, it wasn’t a lack of effort,” Housman said. “We need to improve on our communication. They confused us.”

It was disappointing for the Crimson, which lost despite correcting its major flaws from the night before. Against Penn, Harvard struggled with turnovers, transition defense, and, of course, free throw shooting, going an abysmal 7-of-16 from the stripe and missing four front ends of one-and-ones.

Saturday night was different. The Crimson cut down its turnovers, shot well from the line, going 20-for-27, and played efficiently on offense.

But when it counted most, Harvard couldn’t get a hand in the Princeton guards’ faces on three point attempts, and the big men failed to body up on the Tiger’s inside giants.

With just over two minutes to play, Harvard had cut the Princeton lead down to three, at 63-60. But on the ensuing possession, Princeton sophomore guard Dan Mavraides sunk a wide-open three after Harvard failed to switch on to him. Again, Harvard rebounded on a clutch three from Housman on the next possession, but needing a stop just a minute later, it happened again. With the Crimson down just 68-65, Mavraides nailed another wide-open trifecta after Princeton had broken down the Harvard trap with 30 seconds to play. A stop would have given the Crimson a shot, but Mavraides sealed Harvard’s fate, finishing the game with a team-high 22 points.

“Every team goes through stretches where they struggled to win…unfortunately, we seem like we’re going through one of those moments,” coach Tommy Amaker said. “Hopefully we can crack that losing streak.”

To break its current three-game slide, relying on junior Jeremy Lin may not be enough. Lin solidified his candidacy as a frontrunner for Ivy Player of the Year with another astounding 27 point, six rebound, four-assist performance, but the team still fell.

To give Lin some help, Amaker may have found the solution in playing freshman point guard Oliver McNally with Housman more often in the rotation. The two had success playing together on Saturday, before McNally suffered a mild ankle sprain with five minutes to play and failed to return until the final minute.

In his absence, Housman dominated, as he always does against the Tigers. Just two years ago, he posted one of the best performances in Crimson history, scoring 33 points, including 18 of the team’s final 20 to end regulation and in overtime, in a tough defeat in Princeton, N.J.

Last night, it was more of the same, as Housman broke down the Tiger defense again and again for layups and threes to keep the team in the game.

“I don’t think Princeton’s guards have ever been able to stay in front of Drew,” Lin said.

But the 80-percent free throw shooter missed three big free throws in the final five minutes, which could have brought the home team closer. The shots all went in the bucket, and somehow bounced out, leaving the senior to scratch his head.

“He was tremendous tonight, breaking the team down, making plays, making layups,” Amaker said. “I’m sure he’d be the first to tell you that he wishes he had made some of those free throws.”

—Staff writer Walter E. Howell can be reached at wehowell@fas.harvard.edu.