M. Cagers Go Across the River in Search of First Win

The Harvard men's basketball team will go cross town tonight looking for its first victory of the season.

The Crimson and new Coach Frank Sullivan travel to Boston University to clash with Coach Bob Brown's Terriers. The cagers look to rebound from their loss to Lehigh Friday night, 86-74, and to grab Sullivan's first Harvard win.

Tonight's game will be the season opener for B.U.

Harvard will need to remedy some basic flaws in its game to achieve its first win.

The Crimson must hold onto the ball and avoid costly turnovers. Terrier's guard Mark Daly and forward Jason Scott each had 24 steals last year, exhibiting an ability to capitalize on sloppy ball-handling.

The Crimson need to work on its interior defense, as well, to avoid easy buckets from Scott and the other starting forward, James Brown. Brown grabbed six boards and averaged six points a game last year. His outside shooting is suspect, though, as exhibited by his anemic 37 percent shooting from the field.

The 6'7" Scott is the Terriers' most potent offensive threat. While averaging 14.6 points per game last season, he snagged 7.6 rebounds per game.

His 58 percent shooting makes him that much more dangerous. His 42 blocks last year will pose a brutal problem to the Crimson post-up game.

Ron Mitchell must avoid the eight turnovers from last game with Scott roaming the paint.

B.U.'s offense will be run by guards Daly and Mike Jarvis.

"Our game is an aggressive style, with an up tempo balanced attack," Brown said.

Daly averaged 9.4 points per game last year, but beyond that the backcourt is suspect. Neither Daly nor Jarvis shot over 40 percent.

Crimson guards Matt McClain and Jared Leake must exploit these weaknesses. They will be called on to harrass on defense, hopefully reversing the turnover tide.

Harvard will look to forward Tyler Rullman to solidify the flashes of brilliance he showed in the first half of Friday's game. He scored 15 points early before completely drying up.

The Terriers will be looking to two new big men--both coming from successful junior college hoop programs--off the bench. Six-foot-eight-inch Tim Westerfield and 6'7" Jeff Storm will put added pressure on the Crimson defense down low.

"Tim and Jeff bring an added age factor and come from winning traditions that will benefit our team," Brown said.

The Terriers drastically miss the inside play of 6'9" Russell Jarvis. He left midway through last season averaging 15 points and seven rebounds. His absence opens up possibilities for Harvard.

The possible exploitation of any inside weakness the Terriers may display hinges on the improved effectiveness of the inside-out offense.

On Friday night, Mitchell displayed an inability to entice defenses to collapse on him, which would have opened up Rullman or McClain on the outside.

Increased bench support from such big men as Eric Carter and Annikar Chhabra would certainly help the Crimson cause down under. If Peter Condakes can sustain anything near his 12 points and nine rebounds from Friday night, Harvard will be better off.