M. Basketball Begins New Era With Win

In an unofficial start to the post-Dan Clemente era, the Harvard men’s basketball overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat St. Francis Xavier in the Crimson’s first and only exhibition contest of the 2001-02 season.

Junior guard Patrick Harvey scored a game-high 22 points and senior Tim Coleman had a double-double to lead Harvard to the 85-75 victory at Lavietes Pavilion.

The Crimson—which opens the regular season this Friday against Fairfield—went on a 13-3 run to start the second half, cutting the X-Men’s lead to 51-50. Then, with just under seven minutes to play, junior guard Drew Gellert hit a three-pointer to give Harvard the lead for good.

Gellert finished the game with 18 points to go along with six rebounds. Had the game counted, Gellert’s 18 points would have been a career-high for the Harvard captain.

“A lot of our offense runs through our guards and Drew is quick and can get past guys,” said junior point guard Elliott Prasse-Freeman. “He’s good at creating things.”

Gellert—who enters this season just 34 steals shy of the Harvard career record—had seven takeaways on Saturday night.

The Crimson shot better than 55 percent (34-of-61) from the field in the game. Harvey, who played a game-high 36 minutes, connected on 6-of-9 three-point attempts.

“The three-point shot will be a big part of our offense this year,” Harvey said.

Junior center Brian Sigafoos also chipped in 11 points to give Harvard four players in double figures.

With Clemente gone due to graduation, Harvard will look to get more players involved in the scoring. Clemente was Harvard’s top scorer last year, averaging 18.7 points per game, and the Crimson’s fourth all-time leading scorer.

“We’re going to have a lot of parity [scoring-wise],” Prasse-Freeman said. “We don’t have any stars. We just have a lot of different guys ready to contribute.”

Though Clemente is gone, the Crimson will be helped inside by the return of the 6’8 Coleman who missed last season for academic reasons.

After sustaining a cut during pre-game warm-ups, Coleman came off the bench and poured in 20 points. He also grabbed a game-best 13 rebounds.

“It’s great to have Timmy back,” Prasse-Freeman said. “He’s not only strong in the middle, but he gives us a lot of leadership.”

Coleman’s presence inside helped Harvard bounce back after a slow first half. The Crimson outrebounded St. Francis 21-12 after the break. Those rebounds generated 12 second-chance points.

By hitting the boards harder, Harvard also ignited the fast break, which the Crimson—with its small, three-guard set—figures to rely on much of this season.

“We’re going to run a lot,” Prasse-Freeman said. “Our big guys run really well.”

In the opening half, Harvard defense was virtually invisible, as X-Men shooting guard Jordan Croucher penetrated through the lane at will for 17 first-half points. St. Francis also shot 5-of-6 from the three-point line to take a 48-37 halftime lead.

“We came out sluggish,” Harvey said. “The biggest difference in the second half was our intenisty. Coach got on us at halftime.”

Prasse-Freeman, projected by some media outlets as an All-Ivy First Team selection, finished with 10 assists and just two turnovers Saturday.

Three freshmen also saw action in Saturday’s scrimmage. Guard Jason Norman played 14 minutes and contributed six points.

Guard Kevin Rogus and forward Graham Beatty were also worked into the lineup by Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan.

Beatty didn’t score a point but frustrated St. Francis’ low-post players on the defensive end. He blocked two shots in just seven minutes.

“Graham is coming along real well. He can grab defensive rebounds for us,” Prasse-Freeman said. “[Junior] Sammy [Winter] is a force inside as well.”

Junior guard Brady Merchant sat out the game with a strained medial collateral ligament. Freshman David Giovacchini also was also sidelined due to a broken right leg. He is expected to at least miss the Crimson’s first few games.

Harvard was pegged to finish sixth in the Ivy preseason media poll. Princeton was picked to repeat as champions, while Brown—who returns its entire starting lineup from last season—was selected to finish second.

“After Princeton and Penn, I think the league’s pretty much wide open,” Harvey said. “We can play with anyone.”