M. Hoops Hits Road for Ivy Games

They say if you're not moving forward, you're falling behind.

The men's basketball team finds itself in just such a predicament this weekend. The team was the clear number two in the Ivy League three weeks ago when it broke for exam period, but without losing a game in the intervening weeks, it finds itself tied for second with two other teams in the muddled middle of the Ivy league race.

This weekend Harvard (9-6, 3-1 Ivy) takes on Brown (3-13, 0-4) and second-place Yale (8-8, 3-1) in an effort to re-establish sole possession of the second-place position that the team feels it has earned.

"We're really excited to start the second half of our Ivy season," junior forward Paul Fisher said. "We're taking every game dead serious."

Coming off a dismal first half in a non-conference loss to Hartford on Tuesday, the team also hopes that the rust from the exam-period layoff is out of its system and that the team will be able to play an entire 40 minutes of solid basketball.

"Hopefully, we got to playing the kind of basketball we want to play [in the second half against Hartford]," junior guard Mike Beam said.

The Crimson will get to ease into the challenge of back-to-back Ivy contests, as tonight's game is in Providence against the hapless Brown Bears, who have exactly one win in their 13 starts since Thanksgiving.

Still looking for their first league win, the Bears are reeling from four straight Ivy defeats against quality opponents, including the most recent, back-to-back losses to traveling partner Yale.

In its string of losses, Brown has been woefully unable to put points of the board. The team averages a meager 54 points-per-game, and has yet to record a 20-point effort by any player.

If no one player is singeing the twine for Brown this season, they have been getting production from a wide variety of sources, which is both a blessing and a curse.

"It's tough to defend because we can't focus on any one player," Beam said.

The Bear's apparent depth may also signal a lack of cohesiveness.

"Their depth may actually be beneficial for us," Fisher said. "They're struggling...to discover their roles on the court, whereas our roles are generally well defined."

The team is as deep as a coach could possibly hope for, having had eight different players lead the team in scoring this season, and five different players in rebounding.

As a result, Harvard's bench may be tested. Junior guard Mike Beam is still recovering from a flu virus that kept him out of exam-break practices and forced him into only limited action in Tuesday's loss. If Beam is still less than 100 percent, coach Frank Sullivan may be forced to go early and often to a bench that he has been reluctant to use in tight situations this season.

But Beam has practiced all week, and feels ready to go full tilt today.

"I feel great," Beam said. "I would definitely say I'm back to 100 percent."

With a win Friday and a likely Princeton win at home against second-place Cornell, the stage is set for a showdown for sole possession of second place tomorrow night in New Haven.

After a 1-6 start, Yale has gone 6-2 since Christmas, and finds itself the surprise team in the Ivy race.

"It's going to be a big battle," Fisher said. "They think they're the better team. If either team wants into the Ivy race, it's a must-win situation."

Yale has showcased nearly everything a team needs. The Bulldogs have talent, star power, and experience: the starting lineup contains three juniors and two senior former Ivy League Players-of-the-Week, senior Emerson Whitley (17 points-per-game) and Matt Ricketts.

Whitely has been especially impressive of late, and Harvard is clearly viewing him as the man to contain if the Crimson are to emerge victorious.

"Whitley is clearly their main guy," Beam said. "He's developed into one of the better players in the league."

However, the Crimson also believe Harvard's tall-but-agile front-court can do the job on Yale's multifaceted swingman.

"I think we'll match up against him really well, better than lots of other teams they face this year," Beam said.

Yale also sports a depth chart that looks more and more impressive as the second game of a weekend enters its final minutes.

Nine Bulldogs have logged at least eight minutes per contest this season, and the bench features three-point ace senior Gabe Hunterton, who is within 100 of recording 1000 career points, and freshman Isaiah Cavaco, whose four free throws in the final minute sealed Yale's victory over Brown last weekend.

If Harvard is to run with the "Dogs," it will need the kind of bench production it got on Tuesday, when sophomore guard Damian Long (7 points) and freshman center Tim Coleman (7 rebounds) logged valuable minutes in reserve of Beam and Paul Fisher, who was plagued by foul trouble.

As for the starting lineups, Yale may be just the squad Harvard wants to face. The Bulldog's frontcourt goes only 6'6, 6'6, 6'1, a fact that will put less pressure on a modestly-sized Crimson frontcourt that has been knocked around and outrebounded much of the season.

Harvard will enjoy a height advantage at all three post positions, giving the offensively-minded frontcourt of Fisher, captain forward Mike Scott, and freshman forward Dan Clemente, all of whom average at least 10 points-per-game, room to maneuver and work.

A key to the Yale game may be the first 20 minutes of play. The Bulldogs are 8-1 when leading at the intermission, and are winless at 0-6 when trailing.

Harvard plays Brown tonight at 7:30 in Providence, then faces Yale, in New Haven, tomorrow at 7:30