Penn not the only one at 3-1, as two other Ivies start strong

The Penn men's basketball team's impressive 3-1 start isn't the only news coming out of the Ivy League in the opening weeks of the 2001-02 season.

Winter break is still weeks away, and the Ancient Eight has already seen its share of shootouts, surprises and emerging stars -- and winless Princeton currently sits in last place.

Here's a team-by-team look at how the other Ivies have fared:

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BROWN: One of three Ivies to go 3-1 out of the gates, the Bears opened the season with an 82-58 win over Vermont to qualify for the finals of the Mohegan Sun Classic, but fell, 66-60, to host Central Connecticut's come-from-behind effort.

Brown junior swingman Earl Hunt scored 20 points in both games to eclipse the career 1,000 points mark, and his hot hand continued in the Bears' next two impressive wins.

On Nov. 20, Brown traveled to Northeastern and summoned up a full team effort to erase a 10-point deficit early in the second half in a 90-88 win. Both Hunt and junior forward Alaivaa Nuualiitia scored 26 points, with sophomore forward Jaime Kilburn pitching in 17.

The offense kept churning on Saturday for the Bears, who had their first 100-point game in nearly a decade while beating visiting Wagner, 103-100. Hunt's 32 points that night gave him a season-opening average of 24.3 points per game.

Also doing his part in giving Brown its best start in 35 years is freshman guard Jason Forte -- brother of the Boston Celtics' Joseph Forte -- who is averaging 7.5 points and 5.3 assists in 21 minutes a game.

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COLUMBIA: Anchored by reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Craig Austin, the Lions have cruised to a 3-2 start.

Columbia opened its season with a 66-54 win over Northeastern in the Pepsi-Marist Classic. Austin, a senior forward, led the Lions with 21 points.

Columbia's star player couldn't match the effort in the finals, however, as host Marist topped the Lions, 69-59, thanks in part to Columbia's 34 percent second-half shooting from the field. However, both Austin and Columbia center Chris Wiedemann were named to the All-Tournament team.

Columbia welcomed the Main Line's own Haverford to Levien Gymnasium for its home opener on Nov. 20. It was hardly a contest, as the Fords shot a dismal 27.9 percent from the field and the Lions romped, 52-37.

The Lions returned to .500 on Saturday at the hands of Providence, which dismissed Columbia, 68-54. Austin had a team-high 11 points, and Wiedemann had a solid all-around game with eight points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

Last night, the Lions returned to a winning record with a 53-47 victory over visiting Lehigh.

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CORNELL: The youthful Big Red fell to 0-3 on Monday with a 71-62 loss at Bucknell that went into overtime thanks to a Bison three scored with no time left in regulation.

Sophomore guard Ka'Ron Barnes tied his career high with 21 points against Bucknell, a vast improvement over the eight he managed in a 78-48 drubbing by Notre Dame on Nov. 20.

In their season opener on Nov. 16, the Big Red were outmatched by Canisius in a 65-48 loss. Freshman guard Cody Toppert led Cornell with 12 points.

Cornell has started Toppert and fellow freshman Chris Vandenberg, a center, in all three games.

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DARTMOUTH: The Big Green seem to have forgotten they finished last season tied with Cornell at the bottom of the Ivy League standings. With consecutive wins over New Hampshire and Holy Cross, Dartmouth is out to a 2-2 start and has the type of schedule to continue the momentum.

Dartmouth started the season with definite signs of life, taking Division 1 newcomer Binghamton down to the wire before the host Bearcats pulled off a 49-46 victory on Nov. 16.

Big Green senior point guard Flinder Boyd improved upon his 11-point performance in Binghamton with a 20-point night against Vermont on Nov. 20. But the Catamounts' 48-24 advantage on the boards helped give Vermont a 73-54 victory.

Dartmouth was not dissuaded, however, and went on to claim its first win over New Hampshire in six attempts on Saturday, 72-70, thanks in part to Boyd's 20 points and junior forward Charles Harris' 18.

In yesterday's 58-47 upset at Holy Cross, Harris again tallied 18 points to lead Dartmouth in scoring. Freshman Mike McLaren scored four of his five field goals from beyond the arc for 14 points, and Boyd contributed 12.

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HARVARD: The Crimson improved to 3-1 last night with a 68-61 win over Ivy punching bag Northeastern. Junior guard Patrick Harvey led Harvard with 24 points.

Leading the team in scoring is a usual occurrence for Harvey so far this season. On Saturday's 64-62 win over Lehigh he had a game-high 21 points, and he led the Crimson with 19 points in a season-opening 68-62 win over Fairfield on Nov. 16.

Even in Harvard's 65-57 loss to Holy Cross on Nov. 20, Harvey dropped 21 points to lead the Crimson.

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PRINCETON: Last year's best is this year's last. The Tigers -- picked the preseason favorite to repeat as Ivy champs -- are 0-3 after braving a challenging schedule.

Princeton started its season facing California in the first round of the Black Coaches Association Classic in Berkeley, Calif., and was rolled, 70-58, by the Golden Bears. The Tigers shot 57 percent but committed 24 turnovers. Sophomore forward Konrad Wysocki led Princeton with 17 points.

The Tigers met then-No. 9 St. Joseph's in consolation round of the BCA Classic and were dropped, 74-63, by the Hawks. Another sophomore forward, Andre Logan, led Princeton with 13 points.

Then, on Saturday, the Tigers traveled to Miami to take on Florida International -- the team Penn snapped last season's 0-8 losing streak against last year. Princeton was not so fortunate, however, falling 49-44 as only five Tigers scored. Both Wysocki and Logan tied with nine points to lead the team.

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YALE: Three big positives have emerged for the Elis early this season, despite their 2-3 start.

First is their 84-74 win at Penn State on Nov. 18 giving the Nittany Lions their first home loss against a non-conference team in 54 games.

Second is their forcing of George Washington into overtime in an eventual 116-102 loss to the host Colonials in the finals of the Red Auerbach Colonial Classic on Saturday.

Third is the dominant play of highly touted recruit and freshman guard Edwin Draughan, who led Yale with 22 points at Penn State and 19 against George Washington.

The Elis seem to have gotten past their opening losses to Air Force (68-62) and Tennessee-Martin (99-87).

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