Clemente Leads M. Hoops to Split

Dan Clemente, who made an improbable return from a supposedly season-ending eye injury, resumed his role as the Harvard men's basketball team's most prolific scorer this weekend as the Crimson split home contests against Columbia and Cornell.

Harvard (8-11, 3-3 Ivy) played tough against the Big Red (6-12, 0-6) and ended up with a 67-57 win on Friday, but an amazing performance on Saturday against the Lions (9-10, 3-3) wasn't enough for the win.

Columbia 71, Harvard 65

Looking for the sweep Saturday night against Columbia, the Crimson found out how hard it is to win two in a row if you can't hit your two-point shots.

Shooting a dismal 11-of-36 from the field in the second half, and only sinking 4-of-22 from inside the arc, Harvard saw a narrow halftime lead slip away, falling 71-65 to Columbia.

"Our two-point field goal percentage was not what we wanted," Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan said. "Shooting 4-for-22 probably hurt us more than anything tonight. It's frustrating for the players when they can't make the easy and medium-range shots."

Despite Harvard's poor performance in the paint, the three-point shooting of Clemente and captain Damian Long kept the Crimson in the game.

"You've got to stay close on threes," Sullivan said. "The players really feel that way. They don't want to let the other team get an advantage in terms of the number of three-point attempts."

In only his second game back after suffering what originally appeared to be a season-ending injury with a detached retina, Clemente led the Crimson in scoring with 24 points and nine boards while shooting 6-of-10 from downtown.

More impressively, Clemente took control of the game at times and was easily the most talented player on either team.

It was an auspicious beginning to the night for Clemente, however, who did not score a point until the seventeenth minute of the first half when he rattled off 10 straight points for the Crimson to end the first half.

"Dan and Damian had an excellent rhythm both nights," Sullivan said. "Dan is one of our major three-point threats, and having him back helped us out tremendously."

Fortunately for Harvard, Long was equally proficient from beyond the arc.

Collecting 20 points on the evening, the captain did most of his damage from the outside, sinking 6-of-9 three-point attempts.

On the strength of strong long distance shooting, Harvard appeared to be in control of the game from the outset.

Leading 44-36 midway through the second half, however, things started to unravel for the Crimson.

Ignited by the three-point shooting of junior guard Treg Duerksen, who bucketed 5-of-8 attempts from downtown and led the Lions in scoring with 15 points, Columbia took the lead 56-46 with an incredible 20-2 run.

The Lions shot 69 percent from the field in the second half, missing only six shots.

With the Harvard defense in shambles and the offense stalled and rolling down hill fast, the combination of Clemente and freshman point guard Elliott Prasse-Freeman gave Harvard a narrow 59-56 on the strength of 13-0 run.

Sparking the Crimson turnaround was the creative play of the Crimson's freshman point-guard. Scoring twice in eight seconds, Prasse-Freeman knocked in five points and added two steals and a pair of assists on the Crimson run that was capped by a pair of three pointers from Clemente.

Despite solid numbers from Long, Clemente, and Prasse-Freeman, who shot 4-of-7 from the field and nearly had a double-double with 10-points and eight assists, no other player for the Crimson had more than five points on the night.

Seeing limited action with the return of Clemente, the Crimson bench was outscored 15-2 by its Columbia counterparts.

"You put guys in the game and hope they'll contribute, but we didn't have a lot of bench time," Sullivan said. "It's a difficult game for the three freshman. They weren't as relaxed on offense because they were really focusing on defense when they got on the court. Young players think more about doing a solid job defensively than they do about creating offense, but I think they're better for the experience."

Although the Crimson is a young team with a freshmen and a sophomore in the starting lineup. Harvard's bench is even younger. All three Crimson reserves are freshmen and are likely to see less playing time with Clemente's return.

HARVARD 67, CORNELL 57

On Friday night, the Crimson played Ivy League bottom dweller Cornell (6-11, 0-5) in an attempt to end its three-game losing streak. Harvard got the good news about Clemente only the day before, and it showed in its enthusiasm and intensity on defense in a 67-57 win.

While Clemente didn't start, he entered the game three minutes later. Immediately he and Long went to work on the offensive end. Long scored ten of Harvard's first 12 points as it jumped to a ten-point lead early in the first half. The Big Red looked lackadaisical on defense, allowing easy penetration by the Crimson guards that led to easy points.

Harvard came out defensively looking to shut down Cornell's offensive combination of 6'5 forward Ray Mercedes and 5'9 guard Wallace Prather. Collectively, it did just that. Clemente and freshman forward Sam Winter played the athletic Mercedes tough in the paint, forcing him into four turnovers and 1-of-5 3-point shooting.

"Mercedes and I have been going at it since our freshman year," Clemente said. "I always expect a tough game with him."

In the first half, despite the lead, it looked as if Harvard might foul out several of its players. Three Crimson players picked up a pair of early fouls and freshman guard Brady Merchant had four before the half was over. All told, Harvard committed 14 fouls giving the Big Red 15 first-half free throw attempts and it converted eight of them.

Both teams did a poor job of holding on to the ball in the first half also. Four of the Crimson's 15 first-half turnovers came from the rusty Clemente, and Mercedes had three turnovers and no assists in the first half alone.

The Crimson's 14-point halftime lead was due simply to better shooting. Cornell was 7-of-25 from the floor, including 1-of-8 from 3-point range. Harvard, on the other hand, was hot, hitting 60 percent from the floor overall (15-of-25) and from long range (6-of-10).

The defensive pressure never let up. Long led the hustle with eight defensive rebounds and one highlight-reel play. After a Clemente score, the Big Red tried to throw a quick pass the length of the floor. Long was the only Harvard player not caught unawares, and chased after the ball. He jumped and extended almost horizontally, the ball barely missing his fingers as he went flying into the stands. He wasn't done. He collected himself after the horrific crash and blocked Cornell guard Kevin Cuttica's attempt at a layup.

Cornell hit more shots in the second half while the Crimson offense went into a lull. Mercedes's defense on Clemente held him to less production in the half, and Long made only one shot in the last 20 minutes. Luckily for the Crimson, the Big Red was unable to capitalize on poor Harvard possessions, continuing its abysmal three-point shooting, finishing at 6-of-22.

"We did a good job on their four and five men," Sullivan said. "We did well with Elliott on Prather."

A pleasant surprise for Harvard was the play of its bench. When guards Prasse-Freeman and Drew Gellert got into foul trouble, Merchant and Alex Lowder spelled the duo well on the defensive end. Merchant even chipped in eleven points.

Harvard could not have been happier about Clemente's play after missing nearly two months. He led all scorers with 24 points and played 35 minutes off the bench. Long also continued his increased offensive role, scoring 17 points, getting 11 boards and picking up five assists.

The Crimson, at 3-3 in the Ivy League, hits the road next weekend with big games against League giants Penn and Princeton.