Men's Basketball Team Drops 76-60 Decision To Harvard
December 5, 2000 | Men's Basketball
The Terrier men's basketball team spotted Harvard a 28-point lead early in the second half before it staged a late rally only to fall in the end, 76-60, at Harvard's Lavietes Pavilion on Tuesday (Dec. 5).
The loss dropped B.U.'s record to 3-2, while Harvard improved to 3-2.
"We dug ourselves too deep a hole early in the game," said Terrier head coach Dennis Wolff, who was 6-0 against the Crimson prior to the game. "We fought hard to come back in the second half. We used a lot of energy in our effort to battle back, but, in the end, it was too late."
With the scored tied 7-7 with 16:31 to go in the first half, the Crimson began a blitzkrieg that didn't end until early in the second half.
The first-half attack was led by Elliot Prasse-Freeman, who converted on 5-of-6 attempts from three-point land for 15 points.
It was his shooting that spearheaded a 22-2 Harvard run during a 5:57 span of the first half that saw the Crimson go from the 7-7 tie to a 29-9 lead. By the time the first half ended, the Crimson held a 48-30 lead.
During those first 20 minutes of action, Harvard shot 64.3 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from the three-point arc, while the Terriers hit on just 40.7 percent of their shots from the field and 44.4 percent from three-point land.
While Prasse-Freeman led the Harvard offense, Paul Seymour was the Terriers' offensive leader in the first half with 10 points.
The situation worsened in the opening minutes of the second half as Harvard increased its lead to 57-29 with 17:02 to play in the game.
The Terriers then began to whittle away at their deficit primarily behind Jason Grochowalski, Stihn Dhondt, and Seymour.
With these three doing most of the scoring, the Terriers came to within just eight points, 68-60, with just 3:23 to play in the game.
At that juncture, Dhondt drove to the baseline and took the ball to the basket. The ball went in, but the official called Dhondt for an offensive foul and no basket.
The Terriers wouldn't get any closer, as Harvard outscored them, 8-0 over the final minutes of the game.
Seymour, who had 10 points in the second half, finished the game with a team-high 20 points as well as a team-high 8 rebounds. Dhondt, who was second in scoring with 14 points, had seven points each in the first and the second halve. He also chipped in with 6 rebounds. Finally, Grochowalski had 9 of his 13 points in the second half.
As a team, the Terriers shot just 34.4 percent from the field and converted on 27.3 percent of their three-point attempts. In the meantime, Harvard finished the game with 54.2 percent shooting from the field and 52.2 percent from outside the arc.
It is interesting to note that Prasse-Freeman, who did most of the damage in the first half, missed his only three-point attempt in the second half to finish the game 5-of-7.
It was the Terriers' first game in 11 days, and, while they did look a bit rusty in the opening half, Wolff refused to use that as an excuse.
"They made a lot of shots and we didn't," said the coach.
