Princeton's overtime loss to Harvard puts Penn in control

and Richard Perez The Harvard Crimson After 17 consecutive losses to Princeton, Tim Hill and the Harvard men's basketball team (11-13, 5-7 Ivy League) pulled off a stunning, season-making upset Saturday night at Lavietes Pavilion, stopping the three-time defending Ivy League champion Princeton Tigers (18-6, 9-2) by an 87-79 overtime final. "Without a doubt, it's the best win of my career," said Hill, who set a school record for career assists, passing Tarik Campbell '94 with 571. "This is the only team in the Ivy League that the seniors haven't beaten, and we couldn't have asked for a better night." The Crimson executed to near perfection, making 51 percent from the floor and 8-of-15 from three-point range while holding Princeton to 39.7 percent shooting. "The things that their guys do well, they did," Princeton Coach Bill Carmody said. "It was like, Clemente, open shot, bang! Beam, open shot, bang!" Hill led a frenzied Crimson attack with a game-high 27 points, in addition to five rebounds and four assists. Clemente scored 16 and pulled down five rebounds, and senior shooting guard Mike Beam scored 11 points, including a pair of critical overtime three-pointers to pace Harvard. But the second half was 20 minutes of pure indigestion, as the Tigers persistently threatened to break down a Harvard lead that got as high as 11 points at 40-29 with 18:27 to play. Princeton put the Crimson in a difficult position, hitting Ewing with his fourth personal with 9:26 remaining when he grabbed point guard Brian Earl. Clemente had picked up his fourth three minutes earlier attempting to press. But Clemente and Ewing survived, with Ewing not fouling out until 2:57 remained in regulation. The final 2:57 of regulation was a regular heavyweight fight, with both teams trading three-point bombs like would-be knockout punches. After Young's backdoor cut and Earl's pair of free throws had cut the Harvard lead to a precarious 60-59, Princeton forward Mason Rocca gave the Tigers their first lead since early in the first half with a three-point play that sent Ewing to the bench fighting back tears after fouling out. Beam tied the game with a jumper before the threes started flying. Beam sank a three and Lewullis responded with one of his own. Clemente then sank another for Harvard, before Lewullis tied the game at 68 with 36 seconds left. Princeton stuffed the Crimson's last possession, double-teaming Beam on the right wing and forcing him to pick up his dribble before flipping the ball to Clemente, who was far off on a buzzer-beater from just outside the arc. The Crimson dominated the overtime period -- making all three attempts from the floor and 11-of-14 from the foul line while holding the Tigers to 4-of-13 shooting and outscoring Princeton 19-11. Beam keyed an initial 8-3 run, making his first two three-point attempts. With the score 74-71, Gellert delivered with another fine play, beating Young off the dribble on the right baseline and cutting to the hole for a lay-up that opened up a 76-71 lead. Princeton was forced to foul, and the Crimson converted on 11-of-14 opportunities, with Hill making 6-of-6. When the point guard made both ends of a one-and-one to increase the lead to 82-72 with 56.6 seconds to play, the Crimson Crazies rained down the sweetest chant of the evening on the Tigers: "Overrated!"

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