M. Hoops Opens Campaign With 77-73 Overtime Exhibition Loss

The 2003-2004 edition of the Harvard men’s basketball team took the floor for the first time yesterday in an exhibition match against St. Francis Xavier University at Lavietes Pavilion.

The X-Men displayed their superpowers, vanquishing the Crimson 77-73 in an overtime struggle.

“We’re not really disappointed with the loss, but more so with the way we played,” Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said.

A layup by sophomore forward Matt Stehle with 1:08 left in overtime brought Harvard within two at 72-70.

St. Francis made three free throws to push its lead to five with just 26 seconds remaining. Crimson junior guard Kevin Rogus drained a huge three-pointer to close the gap to two, but two more free-throws by X-Men guard Zach Russell with seven seconds remaining put the game out of reach.

Harvard trailed 68-66 with eight seconds left in regulation when sophomore guard Michael Beal drove the length of the court and finished with a finger roll in the paint to force overtime.

Beal played an outstanding all-around game, pulling down nine rebounds and registering four blocks. Stehle also had a monster game, leading the Crimson with 16 points and five blocks.

“I thought Mike [Beal] rebounded really well, and Matt [Stehle] showed that he can find the basket in easy ways,” Sullivan said.

Harvard led 35-34 at halftime.

The Crimson trailed 25-18 midway through the first half before launching a 10-2 run to grab the lead. St. Francis quickly recovered to build a 34-30 lead with 37 seconds left in the half, but a three-pointer by freshman guard Jim Goffredo and a layup by sophomore forward Luke McCrone gave Harvard the lead at the break.

The Crimson struggled from the line, converting on only one free throw in seven attempts.

“The hardest thing as a player is to get in the mind set of making free throws after you’ve played through extended possessions,” Sullivan said. “It’s a little bit of a by-product of not having gone up and down in practice.”

Goffredo saw his first action in a Harvard uniform, contributing nine points in 18 minutes before fouling out with 3:32 remaining in overtime.

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.