Cagers Drop Fourth Game Out of Five

NEW HAVEN--Junior forward Travis McCready canned a three-pointer with 47 seconds remaining to key Yale's 82-78 win over the Harvard men's basketball team here at Payne Whitney Gym Saturday.

The loss wedged the Crimson (12-14 overall, 7-7 Ivy) into a four-way tie for third place in the Ivy League. The Elis (19-7, 10-4) finished in second place, one game behind Princeton, which captured the league title and an NCAA tournament bid for the second consecutive year, with a convincing 73-46 win over Columbia Saturday in Princeton.

After the game, exuberant Yale fans raised banners urging the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) to select their team for its postseason tournament.

The Elis couldn't help but dominate the first half, as the Crimson turned the ball over 22 times. Junior forward Dean Campbell led Yale to a 46-35 halftime lead with 17 points in the first frame. Sophomore Ron Mitchell and junior Ralph James combined for all but 10 of the Crimson's first-half points.

The Elis maintained their lead for a large portion of the second stanza, but Harvard made its move midway through the half. After McCready hit a 10-foot jumper to give Yale a 72-67 lead with six minutes remaining, Mitchell and James converted buckets to cut the deficit to one.

After Stu Davies gave the Elis a three-point cushion, freshman Tyler Rullman buried a trifecta to knot the count at 74. After McCready missed, Harvard cashed in on its first opportunity to take the lead since it enjoyed a 5-4 advantage minutes into the first half, when James pump-faked once, and then hit a 12-footer.

After McCready tied the score with two minutes remaining, Roby called a timeout.

"I told the team during that timeout that the best basketball team would win over those last two minutes," Kuchem said. "You know with Harvard it's going to be a ballgame down to the wire."

With 90 seconds left, Harvard Co-Captain Fred Schernecker misfired, giving the Elis the chance to take the lead. With just four ticks ten on the 45-second shot clock, McCready launched the "Shot Heard Round Connecticut" to put Yale up by three. McCready looked like he would be the hero of the day.

But after freshman Tarik Campbell drew a foul from sophomore Ed Petersen and coolly sank both ends of a one-and-one, McCready almost found himself in the doghouse.

In an attempt to break Harvard's full-course press, which had given Yale trouble in the second half, McCready let a Peterson pass slip through his hands and out of bounds.

Trailing 79-78, with 32 ticks left, the Crimson set up for one last shot. With eight seconds left, Schernecker shot a three-pointer and missed. Yale threw the ball downcourt, where Petersen tossed in a trey for the final margin.

"We felt they'd go to James or Mitchell," Kuchen said. "If they weren't open, we thought they'd reverse the ball to Schernecker and get it into Mitchell."

"We thought James would get the ball," Petersen said. "We were most afraid of him, because we didn't want to foul him, and he drives so strong."

While Yale waits for the NIT to call, Harvard waits for next year.

"There are a multitude of emotions right now--frustration, pride, anticipation and disappointment," Roby said. "We were ready. Maybe too ready."

Elis, 82-78 in New Haven HARVARD  35-43--78 Yale  46-36--82

HARVARD (78): Ralph James 12-18 5-6 29; Ron Mitchell 9-11 2-2 20; Mal Hollensteiner 1-2 2-2 4; Scott Gilly 1-6 0-0 2; Tarik Campbell 2-3 2-2 6; Dana Smith 0-0 0-0 0; Fred Schernecker 1-6 0-0 3; Tyler Rullman 5-6 2-2 14; lan Smith 0-1 0-0 0; Peter Condakes 0-2 0-0 0.

Totals: 31-55 13-14 78

YALE (82): Stu Davies 1-3 3-4 5; Dean Campbell 11-18 2-5 25; Travis McCready 9-17 6-9 25; Ed Petersen 4-10 2-2 14; David Brown 1-8 0-1 2; Casey Cammann 2-3 3-6 7; Rob Connolly 0-1 2-2 2; Todd Trimmer 1-3 0-0 2; Steve Keller 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 29-63 18-29 82

Three-pointers: Rullman 2, Schernecker; Petersen 4, DCampbell, McCready. Fouled Out: None. Rebounds: Harvard 33 (Mitchell 8); Yale 33 (DCampbell 9). Assists: Harvard 12 (TCampbell 5) Yale 14 (Petersen 7) Steals: Harvard 12 (TCampbell, Schernecker, 3); Yale 15 (DCampbell 4). Blocks: Harvard 1 (Mitchell). Total Fouls: Harvard 21; Yale 14. Turnovers: Harvard 29; Yale 20.

Attendance: 1865.