Men's hoops defeats Harvard, 63-48

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Two minutes into the first half last night, freshman guard Spencer Gloger knocked down one of three free throws to put the men's basketball team ahead of Harvard, 11-1. After that, very little changed.

The Crimson would never get closer than nine, never farther away than 18, as the Tigers left Lavietes Pavilion with a 63-48 victory. Although the Tigers hit their first three three-pointers, they were ineffective from long range through most of the game, making only 27.6 percent from behind the arc. Princeton almost exclusively relied on three pointers — 17 of 24 shots for the half — but they rarely fell, and the offense stagnated. Princeton would score only 15 more points in the half to lead 26-17 at the break.

"I thought we got some wide open shots," head coach Bill Carmody said. "But we just missed them."

The second half saw not a warming of shooting ability, but the arrival of another scoring threat in sophomore guard Ahmed El-Nokali. El-Nokali did his work on drives to the basket, shooting only two three pointers on the game and missing them both. Inside the arc, El-Nokali was perfect, hitting 6 of 6 for 15 points.

"We have such great shooters on the team, so you get a lot more chances [to drive]," El-Nokali said.

Pesky defense

A tough Crimson press gave El-Nokali and the Tigers trouble, however. When Princeton reached its largest lead at 18, three Harvard steals and three three-pointers pulled the Crimson to within nine at 55-46 with 3:58 remaining.

Princeton finally managed to solve the press, however, when El-Nokali sprinted up court, running under a long pass from the baseline. The sophomore made the fast-break layup and was fouled in the process. He made the free throw once to push Princeton's lead to 12 points.

"I thought Ahmed came through at some good times, with some good hoops, some good drives," Carmody said.

From that point onward, the Tigers were able to run time off the clock, slowly stretching their lead back to 15. Despite scoring only 63 points, Princeton had five players in double figures, as Young and Gloger had 12 points apiece, and sophomore guard Ray Robins and junior guard C.J. Chapman each scored 11. Gloger's pair of three-pointers on the game gave him 56 for the year, breaking Brian Earl '99's freshman record of 55.

The Tigers move on to face Dartmouth in Hanover tonight at 7 p.m.