M. Hoops Contracts Arachnophobia

The Harvard men’s basketball team went all the way to Virginia to be welcomed back to earth.

The Crimson entered the four-team Spider Invitational Tournament in Richmond, Va., on Dec. 28-29 with wins in five of its last six games and a legitimate shot of winning the entire tourney.

It left with a last-place finish and a three-game losing streak.

An ugly second half spelled Harvard’s doom in an opening-round loss to host Richmond, but the killer for the Crimson was a disappointing setback to a depleted VMI squad in the consolation game.

VMI 71, Harvard 67

Senior point guard Elliott Prasse-Freeman’s prolific passing career hit a climax as Harvard hit the low point of the first of half of its season on Dec. 29.

Prasse-Freeman recorded eight assists to move past Tim Hill ’99 into first place on the Harvard all-time list, but the milestone was lost amid the 71-67 defeat to VMI in the consolation game.

The Keydets (5-5) won despite having lost the previous night to lowly Norfolk State and despite playing without their leading scorer in the second half. Guard Jason Conley (22.2 ppg) strained a tendon in his right foot during the first half and did not play after halftime.

After taking a 49-45 lead four minutes into the second half on a Prasse-Freeman triple, Harvard traded leads with VMI throughout the rest of the game before falling behind, 69-65, with 28 seconds remaining. Freshman center Brian Cusworth tipped in a miss by senior guard Patrick Harvey to cut the lead to two, but VMI converted two free throws with 10 seconds left to put the Crimson away.

Harvey led Harvard with 19 points. Senior forward Sam Winter had 14 and captain Brady Merchant added 11. Harvard was outrebounded 44-29.

Richmond 86, Harvard 59

Harvard converted just four field goals in the second half against Richmond in the tourney’s opening round, suffering its most lopsided loss of the year, 86-59, on Dec. 28.

Backed by Prasse-Freeman’s 13 points and 62.5 percent shooting from the floor, the Crimson had led by as many as 13 in the opening half.

Even after the Spiders’ 13-3 run leading up to halftime, Harvard held a 40-37 edge at the break.

But the Crimson shot just 4-for-32 from the field in the second half.

After a three-pointer by the Spiders’ Mike Skrocki (25 points) tied the game 44 seconds after halftime, Richmond (5-4) outscored Harvard 46-19 the rest of the way.

Merchant led the Crimson with 16 points while Harvey chipped in 12. Winter collected a game-high 13 rebounds.

—Staff writer Brian E. Fallon can be reached at bfallon@fas.harvard.edu.