M. Basketball Edges Hartford with Thrilling Last-Second Shot

In college basketball, last-second heroics can sometimes come in small packages.

Sophomore guard Patrick Harvey, who at 5'10 is Harvard's shortest player, was larger-than-life on Monday night when his running jumper in the lane beat the buzzer and lifted the Crimson (10-6, 3-1 Ivy) over the Hartford Hawks (4-15, 1-9 America East), 80-78.

Monday night's buzzer-beating shot in Lavietes Pavilion was Harvey's second game-winning effort of the season. In December, Harvey stole a Dartmouth inbounds pass and hit two free throws in the final 3.6 seconds to defeat the Big Green and give Harvard its first Ivy League win.

However, Harvey's game-saving heroics have come in entirely different situations.

Against Dartmouth, Harvard was trailing by four with less than 30 seconds left and was gasping for life. Against Hartford, the Crimson was unable to put the game away in the second half despite being up by eight points with a little over a minute left.

Hartford never regained the lead after Harvard closed the first half with a 12-3 run, but refused to give up and take its fifteenth loss of the season. Led by junior guard Mantas Storpirstis, the Hawks were 7-for-7 from the line and hit two three-pointers in the final two minutes of the game.

"[Hartford] kept confidence down the stretch and obviously made some big shots to put them back in the game," said Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan.

Trailing by three with less than ten seconds left, Storpirstis attempted a three-pointer and was fouled by junior guard Drew Gellert. The shot missed, but Storpirstis connected on all three of his free throws to knot the game at 78.

In the ensuing timeout, Sullivan drew up a play in which Harvey would first look for his own shot and pass to captain Dan Clemente on the wing as a second option. Harvey, seeing an opening in the paint, kept the ball and sealed the win with his 12-footer.

Despite occasionally sloppy play throughout the game, Harvard shot 57.1 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from beyond the arc.

The Crimson was paced offensively by Clemente, who poured in 20 points on 7-for-17 shooting, and by Harvey, who notched all 14 of his points in the second half. Sophomore center Brian Sigafoos also chipped in 12 points and six rebounds in only his second start this season, and sophomore point guard Elliott Prasse-Freeman dished out eight assists to complement his nine points on the night.

Defensively, Gellert led the way with five steals as Harvard set a school record with 20 steals against the Hawks. In addition, Sigafoos and sophomore forward Sam Winter each blocked two shots.

The Hawks were led by 18-point efforts from both Storpirstis and freshman point guard Ryan Stys. Hartford shot a healthy 52.1 percent from the field despite dropping its seventh straight game.

Harvard trailed by as many as five points, at 29-24 with 5:21 remaining in the first half, and led by as many as 16 when a Clemente lay-up pulled the Crimson to 65-49 with 8:56 left in the second half.

The win gives Harvard a strong 7-5 record against non-league competition and an impressive 5-0 record against America East teams. Given last year's poor 0-4 showing against America East, this season's marked improvement prompted Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan to quip after the game that Harvard should petition the NCAA for the America East tournament bid.

The game also represented a chance for the Crimson to return to game form after a two-week layoff due to exams and intercession.

"We were a little rusty coming off exams," Harvey said. "We turned the ball over a lot, which really negated our shooting and all our steals. We knew we needed one tune-up game because you don't want to some out sloppy for a league game"

Harvard's focus now turns to the upcoming Ivy League schedule. The Crimson looks to improve upon its 3-1 Ivy record, starting with road games this weekend against Cornell (5-11, 1-3) and Columbia (6-11, 1-3) and followed by home games in two weeks against perennial powerhouses Pennsylvania (5-11, 2-0) and Princeton (6-7, 2-0).

"The win [against Hartford] definitely gives us some momentum and also some confidence," Clemente said. "Every game is huge from here on out."