Harvard Cannot Handle Pressure

In last night's victory over Harvard, the Boston University men's basketball team utilized its superior team quickness, as well as a trapping, pressure defense to which the Crimson (3-3) was not accustomed to disrupt the Harvard offense.

B.U.'s quick backcourt was able to fluster the Harvard guards, forcing the Crimson into an uncharacteristically high 20 turnovers for the contest. Frustrated by the pressure, the Crimson fell behind by as many as 19 points early in the second half before it made a run.

"We're definitely not used to the pressure defense," said senior guard Mike Beam. "We simulated it in practice, but we just can't reproduce [B.U.'s] team quickness."

Especially surprising was senior point guard Tim Hill's inability to hold onto the ball. Hill finished the contest with 14 points and six assists, but was forced into five turnovers on the night, due largely to senior guard LeVar Folk's suffocating defense.

The normally sure-handed Crimson floor general entered the contest averaging just 2.2 turnovers per game, and his five last night was easily his season-high.

"B.U. made Hill work on every single play," said Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan.

Shooting Blanks

It was poor shooting down the stretch that eventually did in the Crimson's comeback attempt.

Harvard shot only 30 percent (6 of 20) on the night from behind the arc against the stingy B.U. defense. Sophomore forward Dan Clemente had a particularly rough outing, misfiring on all seven of his attempts from downtown. He scored just five points on 2-of-12 shooting.

Clemente--who did pull down 10 rebounds in his 38 minutes of gametime--has been nursing an ankle injury that will require surgery in the off season.

"Dan is still a little out of rhythm, since he hasn't practiced much with the team," Sullivan said. "He hasn't had this bad of a night before, and I'm sure that he won't in the future."

"I can't even explain it," Clemente said. "That's usually kind of the shot I like, the kind where I get my feet set. I just have to get into the gym."

Be Like Mike

Beam's excellent play was the exception, not the rule for the Crimson last night.

The Harvard sharpshooter--who finished sixth in the nation in three-point percentage last season--followed his 22-point performance against Sacred Heart last Saturday with yet another brilliant outing. Beam lit up the Terriers for 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, including a 5-of-7 performance from behind the arc.

Beam was also instrumental in getting Harvard back into the game. He hit a trey to cut the Terrier lead four points with seven minutes left, and another three just inside the two-minute mark to bring the Crimson to within five.

But in the game's closing minutes, Harvard was unable to get Beam the ball, as B.U.'s swarming defense focused on the Crimson's hot-handed guard.

"They played really good defense on me at the end," Beam said. "They keyed in on me, and had somebody in my face at all times."