CRIMSON LIVE: Men's Basketball @ Cornell

FINAL SCORE: Cornell 86, Harvard 53

:00 - The teams trade baskets, then the buzzer sounds, and the Cornell fans storm the court chanting "Harvard sucks." Cornell is the first team in the country that is officially headed for the NCAA tournament after clinching the Ivy League with the victory tonight.

:44 - Game's about over in Ithaca, and Cornell fans will be storming the court soon. Cornell 84, Harvard 51.

1:59 - Cornell's little-used Conor Mullen misses a dunk attempt, and misses the two free throws that go with it.

2:30 - Intentional foul called on Unger after a hard foul on Cornell's Wilkins. He makes 1 of 2 free throws, but Big Red's Conor Mullen scores on the putback. Cornell 80, Harvard 48

3:44 - They've got Cornell Police on crowd control here for when the buzzer sounds. It's all just a formality now. Andre Wilkins scores and is fouled, and Harvard's Andrew Pusar hits a three. Cornell 75, Harvard 47.

5:39 - Another McGeary three for Harvard, but Cornell keeps pouring it on too with some of their own easy buckets and putbacks. Cornell 72, Harvard 44.

7:19 - Harvard's Doug Miller gets blocked on one end, then comes down and blocks Cornell on the other. He outlets to Lin, who finds a streaking Pusar for the easy layin. McGeary then draws a foul from behind the arc by leaning into the defender. He sinks all three free throws. Cornell 66, Harvard 41.

9:30 - Back on track, Lin drives this time and scores from the right side. Cornell 63, Harvard 36.

10:03 - As if on cue and much to the crowd's delight, Lin drives and hoists another AIRBALL.

10:55 - Lin fouled at the top on the floor, but Harvard's in the bonus so he'll shoot one-and-one. But he'll have to do it through an obnoxiously loud "airball" chant that he has been hearing every time he touches the ball. He sinks both. Cornell 63, Harvard 34.

11:27 - PA Announcer: "In the event that Cornell clinches the Ivy League title tonight, fans are invited to storm the court, but for the safety of everyone, wait until the visiting team has left the court." Boos from the rowdy Big Red crowd.

12:03 - Scary play as Lin runs over a Cornell defender. Crowd wants a charge, but Cornell is called for the block. Lin comes away hobbling and gets taken out, but he's returned now. Cornell hits two free throws to extend the lead. Cornell 63, Harvard 32.

12:30 - Unger finds Harris down low for a 2-handed jam--that's the most exciting thing that's ahppened all night. Cornell 61, Harvard 32.

13:36 - McGeary hits a three from in front of the Harvard bench and falls into it, leading to some heckles--but at least the shot fell. Then Dinc misses from about a foot, leading to soime creative "You Suck Dinc" chants. Cornell 61, Harvard 30.

14:50 - Surprise--another three by Cornell's Gore from the baseline, then Louis Dale drives baseline and gets fouled, coverting the free throw for the three point play. Dinc and Foote battle now. After Dinc gets blocked hard by Foote, Dinc fouls Foote going up, and he hits 1 of 2 free throws. Cornell 59, Harvard 27.

15:58 - Harris and Cornell's Jeff Foote get into a little verbal spat after Harris is fouled into the media timeout. Harris makes 1 of 2 free throws. Cornell 52, Harvard 27.

16:16 - Ugly basketball by both teams now. An airball by Lin, then turnovers by both teams leads to Housman blowing a wide-open layup. Just as much as Cornell is making everything, Harvard can't buy any luck--just what these Big Red fans need. Cornell 52, Harvard 26

17:54 - Another three by Cornell's Ryan Wittman--that's his 3rd of the night and his 13th point. Then, a fadeway by Louis Dale. It's just Cornell's night. They can't miss. Unger scores quickly on the other end, then two Housman free throws round out the scoring so far. Cornell, 52, Harvard 26.

19:37 - Cornell strikes first--big surprise. A missed three by Adam Gore leads to an offensive rebound putback by Jason Hartford. Harris is fouled and makes two free throws for the Crimson, though. Cornell 47, Harvard 22.

HALFTIME STATS: After what seemed like a quick start, Harvard shot a miserable 7-for-31 (22.6%) from the field in the first half. Combine that with Cornell shooting 19-for-29 (65.5%), and that 25 point lead makes sense.

Cornell also shot 6-for-12 from beyond the arc, compared to Harvard's 2-for-10.

:00 - Halftime in Ithaca. The crowd definitely has reason to cheer--they haven't stopped all night. A Louis Dale runner gives the Big Red it's largest margin of the night at 45-20. As time expires, Pusar gets blocked going for a layup attempt, much to the crowd's delight. At the half, it's Cornell 45, Harvard 20. Barring an incredible turnaround, it's looking like Harvard will finish the 2007-2008 season without a single road win!

:50 - Three 3-pointeres from the Big Red and this game is breaking open. Two from Ryan Wittman just to warm up the crowd, then the last one was by Adam Gore, who faked the shot and got McGeary to bite. As McGeary sailed by him, Gore steadied himself and hit it. McGeary tries his own shot on the other end, but can't convert. Cornell 43, Harvard 20.

2:40 - Lin drives around the Cornell big men and makes a great move, scoring from the right side, but it's waved off and the offensive foul is called for hooking his man! It's just not their night...

3:33 - A Harris layin stops the run, but Cornell scores again on an easy bank shot by Andre Wilkins. Cornell 33, Harvard 18.

4:54 - An Unger three from the baseline puts Harvard within eight, but six straight from the Big Red blow it open. While the Crimson is lucky to get an open shot, it seems like everything Cornell puts up is finding a way in. Cornell 31, Harvard 16.

7:20 - Housman misses another wide open three from the baseline in front of the Cornell bench, then misses another attempt on a running drive. He redeems himself on the other end, though, by taking a charge on a hard drive by Cornell's Reeves. Cornell 22, Harvard 13.

8:18 - Harris gets pulled after he gets called for the goaltending call on the other end. Unger and Housman then miss a pair of threes on the other end and Harvard can't buy a hoop. Cornell 22, Harvard 13.

9:18 - A three-pointer by Cornell's Adam Gore is the only scoring in the last two minutes. Harris has made two nice post moves, but he hasn't been able to convert. Cornell 20, Harvard 13

11:04 - A Jeremy Lin reverse layup out of the timeout stops the run, buit the next time down, Housman drives and tries to dish out to Dinc, who looks confused and like the pass wasn't meant for him. Housman is understandably frustrated. Cornell 17, Harvard 13.

12:22 - Six more quick points for the Big Red. First, big man Jeff Foote scores in the lane around Dinc again. Then, Cornell's Geoff Reeves steals Harvard's inbounds pass on an absolutely pathetic play and scores again. Then, Big Red star Ryan Wittman scores his first points of the night on a running jumper as the crowd erupts and Amaker calls a timeout. Cornell 17, Harvard 11.

14:07 - Housman hits both free throws. Then, Dinc, McGeary, and Fitzgerald are first off the bnech for the Crimson. Cornell's Jason Hartford scores easily in the post against Dinc. Harvard 11, Cornell 11.

14:39 - Back and forth action from Ithaca. After trading hoops to make it 9-4, a right-handed hook in the post by Cornell's Jeff Foote and a three-pointer by Louis Dale ties it at 9. Housman gets fouled going for the jumper on the other end. He'll shoot two after the media timeout. Harvard 9, Cornell 9.

16:52 - Three scores have gone Harvard's way since. First, an Unger jumper from the top tied it at two. Then, a sweet Housman drive through traffic culminates in another score. Unger hits a three at the top to put Harvard up 7-2.

19:12 - Cornell strikes first. After Pusar is called for the travel down low, Cornell's Alex Tyler hits a right handed hook in the post. Cornell 2, Harvard 0.

GAMETIME

T-0:00 - Lineups introduced, it's Unger, Lin, Pusar, Harris, and Housman for the Crimson in a rotation that's becoming pretty standard after a lot of early mixups.

T-0:00 - As is these fans needed anything else to cheer about, it's "Senior Night" in Ithaca, so we're taking our sweet time before the tip.

T-2:40 - From the Cornell Daily Sun reporter next to me: The atmosphere in here tops the craziest he's ever seen in Lynah. Not even tip-off time yet, and they're going nuts. It's packed.

T-9:42 - Court is clear, before the teams will come out again just before game-time. Arena is packed on both sides, as Cornell fans are looking for a victory tonight to clinch sole possession of first place in the Ivies.

T-13:24 - Cornell fans are using every chant and taunt they can to get to the Harvard squad. This oughta be fun. Teams are both shooting around.

Live from Newman Arena, we're on press row with rowdy Cornell fans right behind us, follow live with the Crimson as Harvard takes on the Big Red in Ithaca.