PENN-DEMONIUM!

The Harvard men’s basketball team is thankful that Dave Klatsky is no Kyle Wente.

Klatsky missed two free throws and a last-second, desperation three-pointer at the end of overtime, allowing Harvard to upset Penn, 78-75, for the second straight year at Lavietes Pavilion on Saturday night.

“I give Harvard a great deal of credit,” Penn Coach Fran Dunphy said. “They played well, they were ready to go, and they out-toughed us. [Junior guard] Patrick Harvey was terrific.”

Against the up-tempo Quakers (10-4, 1-1 Ivy), the Crimson (10-6, 3-1) was energized by a remarkable performance from Harvey, who netted a career-high 28 points and reeled off a personal 15-point run in the waning moments of the second half to keep Harvard in the game.

The previous night must have seemed like déjà vu for Harvard as the Crimson dropped another heartbreaking, two-point loss at the hands of the defending Ivy champion, Princeton (6-7, 2-0).

Unlike last year’s game, in which the Tigers needed Wente’s 25-foot heave for the win at the buzzer, on Friday it was the Crimson trailing, with a chance to win on the game’s final possession. Junior forward Sam Winter, though, was unable to hit a runner in the lane and Harvard ended up on the losing end of the 50-48 decision.

For the second straight year, two points are all that separated the Harvard men’s basketball team from sweeping the Ivy League’s perennial powers for the first time since 1987. Last year, a stunning 77-62 upset of Penn was followed by the heartbreaking 69-67 loss to Princeton.

Harvard, by virtue of a sweep over Dartmouth, leads the league with three wins. The Crimson’s 10 overall wins mark its seventh straight season with double-digit wins, setting a school record. The Crimson players now break for exams and return to the court next to host Brown and Yale in two weeks.

Harvard 78, Penn 75 (OT)

After falling behind by eight points early in the second half, the high-powered Quakers offense reeled off 14 straight points to establish their largest lead of the game at 51-45 with 10:39 left.

Just when it looked like the Crimson would lose control of the game, Harvey decided to do Penn’s run one better.

The 5’11 marksman knocked down two three-pointers, hit three of his patented runners, and completed a three-point play to account for 15 consecutive Harvard points in a stretch of six minutes.

The Harvey run counteracted Penn’s earlier surge and left the Crimson on top, 60-59, with less than four minutes in the game.

Following two Winter free throws, Penn stopped the bleeding when forward Koko Archibong nailed a clutch three-pointer to knot the game at 62 with 2:54 left to play.

Drew Gellert, Harvard’s resilient captain, responded with a driving lay-up on the ensuing possession to give the Crimson a tentative 64-62 lead with two and half minutes remaining.

After two strong defensive stands, Harvey dribbled the ball off his foot, turning it over to the Quakers and giving them a chance to tie. Junior transfer Adam Toole did just that on the next play with a nifty lay-up to equalize the score at 64 and send the game into overtime.

Toole began the bonus period just as he had ended the second half, hitting a big shot—a three-pointer from the left wing—to advance the Quakers out to a quick 67-64 lead.

Gellert, who had struggled from beyond the arc all season, surprisingly pulled up for a three-pointer on the next possession and drained it to pull Harvard even.

But perhaps the biggest turning point of the overtime period occurred when Klatsky was fouled with just over two minutes remaining and Penn down 72-69. The diminutive guard missed both of his free throws and Harvard was able to score off the defensive rebound to extend the lead to 74-69.

Klatsky’s pivotal missed free throws were the only ones that Penn did not convert all night. The Quakers finished an impressive 20-for-22 from the line.

Harvey was again unstoppable over the final three minutes as he scored seven points, including converting all four of his pressure-packed free throws.

After Harvey’s final two free throws put the Crimson up 78-75 with 6.2 seconds left, Klatsky again came up short as an errant three-point attempt ricocheted off the back of the rim.

The boisterous sellout crowd at Lavietes roundly applauded the Crimson players as they celebrated another improbable win over the best team in the league.

“It was a great atmosphere to play in,” Harvey said. “If you’re not ready to play Penn in front of that crowd, you shouldn’t be out there.”

Harvey’s career-high 28 points led all scorers and he was joined in double figures by Gellert (15) and Winter (12). Penn was paced by junior forward Ugonna Onyekwe (22) and received solid 13-point performances from Archibong and Toole.

The Crimson scored on 48 percent of its shots from the field, including a gawdy 58 percent on three-pointers. Harvard’s tenacious defense held Penn under 40 percent shooting, marking the seventh time this season it has been able to accomplish such a feat.

“It worked out well for us,” said Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan. “We went into the game worried about being deflated emotionally and being fatigued physically. We got over both bumps.”

Princeton 50, Harvard 48

Princeton coach John Thompson is apparently a superstitious man.

After another thrilling, two-point escape on Harvard’s home court, Thompson asked an Associated Press reporter to move so he could sit at the same chair he used for last year’s press conference.

Thompson didn’t want to do anything to spoil the good luck he’s had at Lavietes in his two-year career. Though the Tigers never trailed in the final 10 minutes of Friday’s game, the second-year coach still felt every bit as relieved as he did after Wente’s prayer was answered at the buzzer last year.

“Without a doubt, [Harvard] is always tough for the league on the road,” Thompson said. “And especially in this building; we’ve had some very tough games here.”

Despite forcing the Tiger ball-control offense to commit an uncharacteristically-high 12 turnovers in the first half, the Crimson trailed 24-19 at the break, due largely to a poor 27-percent shooting effort.

In the second half, though, Harvard’s shooters picked up the slack and reeled off a 16-3 run to take a 35-28 lead with 12:58 left in the game. Harvey accounted for 10 of those points and finished with a game-high 15.

Facing its largest deficit of the young Ivy season, the Tigers were not fazed. Instead, Princeton rattled off a 14-2 run to retake the lead at 45-39 with six minutes left to play.

But just as soon as the momentum had swung to Princeton, the Crimson stole it back on the next two possessions. A lay-up by Gellert followed by a monstrous, breakaway dunk by junior guard Brady Merchant pulled Harvard within 45-43.

Despite the huge momentum play, Princeton again remained composed. Sophomore guard Ed Persia converted a lay-up and senior forward Mike Bechtold drained a three-pointer to push the Princeton advantage to 50-45 with two minutes left.

“You can try [to capitalize on big momentum plays], but those guys are pretty calm over there,” Gellert said. “They don’t get rattled too often.”

Harvard appeared to be out of the game, but Merchant hit a three-pointer from the right wing to rekindle the Crimson faithful. A Wente turnover gave Harvard the ball back with 19 seconds and a chance to exact revenge for last year’s improbable loss.

Revenge, though, will have to wait another year because the Princeton defense stifled Harvard’s drawn-up play. Winter, who was the team’s fourth option, ended up taking a shot in the lane, but his attempt fell short and the game ended in Princeton’s favor.

The win moves the Tigers a step closer to potentially repeating as league champions. But on Friday, Coach Thompson was simply relieved to be sitting pretty after his first Ivy contest of the year.

“After one game, we’re 1-0. That’s were we wanted to be and we’re glad to be there,” Thompson said.