Red Hot Cagers Scorch UNH, 74-71

DURHAM, N.H.--It was a bit chilly here when the Harvard men's basketball team tipped off with the University of New Hampshire Saturday afternoon.

But Lundholm Gymnasium got very hot by game's end, as the Crimson held on to defeat the Wildcats in a 74-71 scorcher in front of 366 fans.

With five seconds left in the contest, Tri-Captain Mike Gielen cooly sank a pair of free throws to end a heated UNH scoring rally.

"When I'm in that situation, I just try not to think about anything except what I'll be doing after I make the free throws," Gielen said.

The Wildcats (now 0-4) had worked their way back from a 70-54 deficit with less than five minutes to play to pull within a point. But with a chance to tie the game, UNH forward Dave Marshall missed a free throw and the 'Cats were forced to foul Gielen.

The victory was a big confidence booster for the Crimson (now 2-2) after the cagers were humiliated by Boston College Tuesday night. The squad's defense--which gave up the most points ever in Harvard hoop history to the Eagles--shut down the Wildcats.

"We got some confidence from this win, and now we're completely healed from the Boston College game," Harvard Coach Pete Roby said.

Forced Outside

From the start of the game, it was clear that UNH was not going to let the Crimson play inside. The Wildcats' match-up zone forced Harvard to shoot from the perimeter.

"We weren't going to score from the inside, that was a forgone conclusion," Roby said. "They were going to deny us the post, sag back on defense, and make us stick it from the perimeter." In formulating that strategy, UNH hoped that the outside cold would find its way into the arena. The Wildcats guessed right, as the Crimson's early shooting was frigid.

Harvard missed its first five shots before Kevin Collins sank a jumper to put Harvard on the board three and-a-half minutes into the game. In the first 14 minutes of play, the Crimson hit only six of 25 shots.

But the Wildcats, who shot 12-for-28 in the first half, were having trouble scoring, too, and led only 10-8 midway through the opening frame.

"We started slowly," Roby said, "but our defense kept us in there and kept the game close."

Collins was the only player able to provide any heat for Harvard's attack. The junior forward scored 14 first-half points and sparked a late rally that put the Crimson on top, 36-29, at the intermission.

"If he hadn't played well in the first half, we might have been out of it," Roby said. "He really gave us a lift."

"I wanted the ball," said Collins. "I thought their defense was a little weak, and I just got the shots today."

When Wildcat guard Derek Counts--who scored 18 of his game-high 31 points in the second half--handed out an assist on a Dave Murray lay-up, UNH pulled to within one, 51-50, with 11:31 left in the game.

But the Wilcats got burned out. Gielen and forward Neil Phillips sparked a 15-0 Harvard scoring run that put the Crimson ahead, 68-52, with six and-a-half minutes to play.

"One of the things that helped us was that UNH got tired," Roby said. "That rush was fatigue [on their part]."

Although the game looked out of reach, Counts and his teammates got a second wind. The Wildcats scored 14 unanswered points to pull within a bucket, 70-68, with just over a minute to play.

"We sort of stopped playing there," Roby said. "If we made them work harder at getting their shots off, we would have won by more."

Collins once again chilled the Wildcats with a jump shot at the one-minute mark to put the cagers up by four points, 72-68.

Then it came down to free throws. UNH is a notoriously poor free throw shooting team, and in the final minute, its weakness showed.

In the final minute of play, Counts missed one and Marshall missed two vital shots. But Gielen hit his two to put the game on ice.

"I don't think there's any question that that was the reason why we lost," UNH Coach Gerry Friel said of the free throws. "They made their shots and we missed ours."

Collins led the Crimson in scoring with 20 points, while Gielen added 18. Tedd Evers led Harvard with seven rebounds.

Despite the poor outside shooting--Gielen was only 2-for-12 from three point range and Ralph James was 5-for-19 overall--Roby was satisfied with the win. "We won the game, so we couldn't have shot that badly," Roby said.

THE NOTEBOOK: Neil Phillips was 3-for-3 from the field, an indication that his shooting touch may be back...Collins' 20-point effort was a career best...Several players, including Collins, Mal Hollensteiner, and Scott Gilly, are suffering from a touch of the flu.