Shooting Blanks

In the end, junior guard James White summarized it best.

"It doesn't do any good to lose by a little," he said, looking out at the Briggs Cage floor minutes after his team's 62-57 loss to Yale last night.

"It just sucks. You work so hard, and them...this."

"This," on Friday night, was Harvard's agonizingly close loss to the Elis, a loss that almost certainly could have gone the other way with a little luck.

But luck, as the adage goes, comes to those who put themselves in position for it, and the Crimson simply did not play well enough on offense to snag the victory.

As it has done all season, Harvard relied on its rebounding and defense to stay in the game. Its strategy worked--until the last minute of the contest.

With junior Jared Leake and captain Tarik Campbell swarming the perimeter for Harvard, Yale's touted senior backcourt of Damon Franklin (13.8 points per game) and Josh Jennings (11.9 ppg) were held to seven and three points, respectively.

`Money Time'

Franklin's last five, however, came at what analyst Bill Hayes refers to as "money time." First, with Harvard trying to tie the game in the closing minutes, Franklin scored a fast-break layup off a steal. Then, with only seconds left and Yale clinging to a two-point lead, the Massachusetts native hit an out-of-this-area-code three-pointer.

Asked later if he expected to make his near-desperation heave, Franklin answered, "Of course. I expect to hit every shot I put up."

Franklin's comment was meant facetiously, but it illustrated a key difference between the Harvard and Yale squads Friday night.

While the Crimson players spoke tersely after the game about "tough breaks" and "frustrating calls" inside, the Eli offense was comparatively fluid.

I was reminded of the words of an old friend and colleague, Dave Reddy: "Give me five guys who can score consistently, and I can be Dean Smith."

When all is said and done, after all, it's the ability to put the ball in the basket that counts most, and--except for a few brief stretches--Harvard simply did not possess that ability last night.

Don't get me wrong. I don't doubt that Harvard played hard last night. Its defense and rebounding were superior to Yale's in many ways.

But Damon Franklin scored for Yale when it counted, and no one answered for Harvard.

Until someone does, guys like James White Will spend a lot of time looking out at the court and thinking about what might've been.

Peter K. Han is a Crimson staff writer from Houston, Tex., who enjoys synchronized swimming and rythmic gymnastics. He's also a really nice guy--really.