Cagers Overrule Judges, 52-46

All year long, they had dealt out justice swiftly. But all of a sudden, the Judges decided to deliberate.

In a matchup of two run-and-gun teams, the Harvard men's basketball team survived a game-long slowdown by Brandeis to register a 52-46 victory in its home opener last night at Briggs Cage.

After weathering a seven-minute scoring drought in the first half, the Crimson (2-3) trailed the Judges (3-3), 25-19, at halftime. But Harvard rallied behind a 7-0 run to start the second half and 13 second-half points from sophomore forward Ron Mitchell (17 points, 7 rebounds) to pull out the win.

Brandeis came into the game averaging 86 points per game, but it played as if it had traded its track shoes for canes. The Judges constantly ran the 45-second shot clock down and spread the offense out close to half-court.

Harvard Coach Peter Roby was less than thrilled with Brandies' strategy.

"I'm upset because we're doing them a favor by playing them, "Roby said. "When we went to Duke, we didn't hold the ball, We went to play because we're trying to help our team get better."

With Harvard shooting a dismal 38 percent from the floor, the Crimson's press, which contributed to Brandeis' total of 16 turnovers, kept the squad in the game.

"It showed our guys that when teams try to slow it down and you're relentless with your pressure, you can get them to crack," Roby said.

Harvard had its chance to break the game open when it held the Judges scoreless for a four-minute stretch early in the game. But the Crimson could muster only four points over this stretch, on jumpers by Mitchell and Ralph James (13 points).

Harvard's inability to capitalize on Brandeis' power outage proved costly when it suffered its own drought. After James' jumper at 7:52 gave Harvard a 17-12 lead, the Crimson did not score until 0:34 of the first half.

Over this stretch, the Judges roared, make that inched, out on a 13-0 run. When Adam Machala (10 points) put in an uncontested lay-up off an inbounds pass with 1:01 left in the half, the Judges had a 25-17 lead.

The Crimson came streaking out of the blocks to start the second half. A quick three-pointer by Co-Captain Fred Schernecker, a slam by James off a touchdown pass from Dana Smith, and a coast-to-coast drive by James--all in the first 1:18 of the half--gave Harvard the lead and forced a Brandeis timeout.

The Crimson pressed in earnest, but Brandeis hung tough. When Dana Smith had to foul Antonio Benjamin on a breakaway, Benjamin's free throw gave the Judges a 32-30 lead with 11:36 remaining.

Then Mitchell went to work. The sophomore forward scored 11 of the next 14 points--including two foul-line jumpers, two baskets off of offensive rebounds, and a clutch three-point play off a nifty inbound pass from James.

Even with Mitchell's efforts, Brandeis would not quit. A short leaner by David Brooks cut the Harvard lead to 44-41 with 2:43 to play.

Enter Fred Schernecker. The Harvard center shot a woeful 2-for-9 on the night and was 2-of-8 from the three-point line. But the senior co-captain swished a clutch three-pointer to give Harvard a 47-41 lead with 2:11 to go.

Crimson, 52-46 at Briggs Cage Brandeis  25-21--46 HARVARD  19-33--52

BRANDEIS (46): David Brooks 4-2--10; Andre James 1-3--5; Everado Greenaway 1-0--2; Steve Harrington 2-3--8; Mark Peabody 2-1--6; Adam Machala 4-1--10; Antonio Benjamin 2-1--5; Matthew Auth 0-0--0.

Totals: 16-48 11-16 46

HARVARD (52): Tyler Rullman 1-2--4; Ron Mitchell 8-1--17; Fred Schernecker 2-1--7; Scott Gilly 2-0--5; Dana Smith 1-4--6; Tarik Campbell 0-0--0; Peter Condakes 0-0--0; Tchad Robinson 0-0--0; Ralph James 6-1--13.

Totals: 20-53 9-13 52

Three-pointers: Harrington, Peabody, Machala; Schernecker 2, Gilly. Rebounds: Brandeis 37 (Brooks, Machala 8); Harvard 33 (Mitchell, Smith 7). Assists: Brandeis 6 (Peabody 2); Harvard 9 (Smith 5). Steals: Brandeis 3 (Benjamin 2); Harvard 9 (Smith 3). Blocked Shots: Brandeis 2 (Brooks 2); Harvard 0. Total fouls: Brandeis 12, Harvard 16. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: Brandeis 16, Harvard 13.

Attandence: 330.