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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Harvard
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Harvard Stuns Tigers With Late-Game Comeback, Wins 74-67 In Overtime
February 22, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Harvard scored 13 consecutive points late in the second half and in overtime to stun Princeton at Lavietes Pavilion Friday night, coming back from a 12-point second-half deficit to defeat the Tigers, 74-67, and hand Princeton its sixth straight defeat.
The Crimson (7-18, 2-7 Ivy), who were the victims of a stunning late-game comeback by Ivy leader Cornell last week on the same Lavietes floor, did the trick themselves this time. Harvard trailed 53-41 with 7:25 left and still trailed 61-55 with 2:28 left before making its comeback.
After coming back to tie the game at 61 in the final seconds, Harvard then withstood three Princeton attempts that would have won the game, the first a Kyle Koncz short jumper and then two tip-in attempts of that missed shot by Kevin Steuerer, each of which rimmed out before the buzzer sounded.
With his team down six in the final two minutes, Evan Harris scored inside for Harvard to make it 61-57 with 1:24 left. Then, Harris stole Lincoln Gunn's long inbounds attempt, giving his team possession again. Dan McGeary would miss a three-point shot, and Drew Housman would miss a short jumper in the lane thanks to one offensive rebound, but Kyle Fitzgerald tipped in Harvard's third chance to make it 61-59 with 1:04 left.
Fitzgerald then blocked a Kyle Koncz layup attempt on the other end, and Harvard called timeout with 17 seconds left to set up its final attempt. Lin got into the lane and scored from 10 feet away to tie the game, setting up the three Tiger attempts that agonizingly rimmed out.
Princeton (5-18, 2-6 Ivy) went without a field goal for the final 9:27 of the game, including all five minutes of overtime. Meanwhile, Lin scored in the paint to put Harvard ahead for good 22 seconds into overtime, and McGeary took advantage of another pair of Harvard offensive rebounds, drilling a three-point shot from the left wing on the third shot of a possession 1:35 into overtime to put his team ahead by five.
Noah Savage scored all six of Princeton's overtime points, all of which came from the free throw line. Princeton was within two possessions at 72-67 with 22 seconds left in overtime and had the ball after Housman missed the front end of a one-and-one, but McGeary stole Marcus Schroeder's pass and the Crimson completed the comeback win.
Savage had a game-high 22 points for Princeton, making all 11 of his free-throw attempts as the Tigers set a team record with a perfect 19 for 19 performance from the foul line. Princeton made 18 of 18 free throw attempts at Monmouth in 2004.
Koncz had a double-double for Princeton for the second time in his last three games, contributing 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Jason Briggs, who earned his second straight start, scored a career-best 11 points, making 5 of his 6 shots from the field.
What was a tight game early in the second half appeared to be going Princeton's way by midway through the half thanks to a 10-2 Tiger run. The Tigers drove the lane four consecutive times for layups in that stretch, taking a 48-39 lead with 9:51 on the clock after Koncz's score.
The Tigers then took their biggest lead at 53-41 when Zach Finley made two free throws with 7:27 left, but a three-point shot by McGeary a minute later kept his team within shouting distance and gave Harvard a chance at the come-from-behind win.
Four Harvard players scored in double figures, led by Lin, who scored 13 of his team-high 20 points in the second half and overtime, including the game-tying shot in regulation and the go-ahead basket in the extra session. Both McGeary and Brad Unger scored 16 points, while Harris had 14.
The Tigers shot 52% in the first half, but the Crimson shot 50% in the second half and overtime on the way to victory.
Princeton used a 10-2 run midway through the first half to take a 23-14 lead, with several of the Tigers' baskets coming on layups thanks to backdoor cuts. But the Crimson had the answer to that run, getting several baskets inside from Evan Harris and their lone three-pointer of the half, from Dan McGeary, to fashion a 12-2 run of its own to take a one-point lead with 1:30 left in the half.
The Tigers took a 29-26 lead into halftime after Marcus Schroeder again got behind the defense for a layup with 15 seconds on the clock.
Princeton plays at Dartmouth Saturday night at 7 p.m.