M. Hoops Nearly Pulls Out Albany Win

The Harvard men's basketball team has lost close games before. But on Saturday against the University of Albany, a mix of improbable mistakes combined to introduce the Crimson to a new, unpleasant way of losing.

Facing off against the independent Great Danes (2-4) at the Recreation and Convocation Center in Albany, N.Y., Harvard (2-2, 0-0 Ivy) fumbled a halftime lead and suffered several turnovers in the last minute before bowing out 82-78.

"Things couldn't have gone worse," Crimson captain Dan Clemente, a forward, said. "We had a couple of chances to put that away."

Harvard held a three-point lead with 1:40 left to play before it gave up seven points in a row. Albany missed a jump shot and fouled Crimson guard Brady Merchant with 42 seconds left.

Merchant missed both free throws, bringing his game total to 0-of-4 from the line. The ball-handling problems continued.

"We had a few turnovers, and a couple rebounds that went out of bounds right at the end," sophomore guard Pat Harvey said.

Albany guard E.J. Gallup then hit his third trey of the game to even the score at 78-78 with 16 seconds left. After the Crimson once again turned the ball over, Great Dane forward Will Brand scored off an inbounds pass to give Albany a two-point lead. Several seconds later, forward Sam Hopes stole another pass and sealed the victory with a pair of free throws.

The loss followed two Crimson blowout victories over Lehigh and cross-river rival Northeastern. Dropping the game to Albany--a team that came to Cambridge last year and left with an 18-point loss--may have been more of a case of the Great Danes' toughness than any mental lapse by Harvard.

"They wanted it more, they were just hungrier than we were," Clemente said.

Tenacity was not the only factor involved. While the Harvard offense continued to play well, the team's defense and rebounding killed any chance the Crimson had of running away with the win.

In fact, Harvard was in control of the lead for most of the game. Both the Crimson and Albany shot over 50 percent in the first half (54.3 and 60 percent, respectively), and Harvard had a seven-point lead going into halftime on the strength of its long range shooting. Clemente, Harvey and sophomore point guard Elliott Prasse-Freeman combined to hit seven three-pointers in the first half.

Throughout the game, Harvard limited its turnovers, finishing with only 16 overall. Junior guard Drew Gellert recorded three steals for the Crimson, who was able to contain the perimeter for the most part.

But inside the paint, Harvard didn't stand a chance. Albany center Dave Schloss, who stands at almost 7' and weighs 255 pounds, gobbled up 24 points and nine rebounds. Brand also helped out, picking up a double-double with 20 points and 14 boards. Albany had the overall rebounding edge at 39-25, including a 12-6 margin in offensive rebounds.

"They had that seven-footer who just did a number on us," Clemente said, referring to Schloss.

Harvey concurred, saying, "Their big men were a huge part of the game."

Perhaps the most important aspect of Albany's inside game, however, was its second-half defense. Harvard's interior players--bailed out most of the game by Harvey, Prasse-Freeman and Gellert--were almost nonexistent offensively late in the game.

Sophomores Sam Winter, Onnie Mayshak and Brian Sigafoos played center-by-committee Saturday night, and none of the three had impressive games. They combined for eight total points, but nine personal fouls. Only Mayshak had much success rebounding, getting four defensive boards in ten minutes.

Instead, it fell on Clemente to do much of the work in the post. He scored only 17 overall points, reminiscent more of the season opener against Holy Cross (a loss) than the 20-point games he had versus Lehigh and Northeastern. Even more importantly, 16 of Clemente's 17 points came in the first half. The forward only got off one shot in the entire second frame, a missed three-point attempt with four minutes left in the game.

"They just played me man-to-man in the second half," Clemente said. "It wasn't a box-and-one, but they were in my face, and it was tough to get the ball."

The quiet assassin of the Crimson's chances against Albany was not in fact rebounding or defense but may have been, in the end, free-throw shooting. Along with Merchant's miscues, the Crimson as a team shot 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from the charity stripe.

In a four-point game, 13 missed free throws make a large difference.

"That is absolutely ridiculous," Clemente said in reference to the Crimson's free-throw woes. "It is unacceptable, and I guarantee it won't happen again. We are not a 23.5 percent free-throw shooting team."

Playing a road game in a neighboring state against a non-conference team may have distracted the Crimson and lessened its intensity. Unlike most weekends, when the Crimson play both Friday and Saturday night, the Great Danes were Harvard's sole opponent. Albany, N.Y. is more than three hours away, a long round trip for a loss.

"It was a long bus ride home," Harvey said.

Harvard will have to rebound quickly, facing Boston University on Tuesday night at Lavietes Pavilion.