THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
SPORTS MONDAY FEBRUARY 10, 2003 · PAGE 12
All-star desperation TALK ABOUT TRYING TO FILL TIME. THE NBA All-Star weekend once again was brutally long. Jason Richardson’s winning dunk was definitely legit, but let’s cut out the celebrity ballers and the cheesy halfcourt games. Keep the dunk and three-point contest because they are the only competitive elements of the show, but get rid of the “weekend” in All Star weekend and make it a one JOHN MEACHIN night event. The SUICIDE SQUEEZE game itself is almost never good so why prolong the event into a weekend-long saga? Like everyone, I am always glad to see that Magic Johnson is doing well, but his game of H-O-R-S-E against Isaiah Thomas was pathetic. First of all, they played the game in what looked like a high school gym and whether no one cared or no one was let in, the bleachers were completely empty. Neither player looked that excited to be there and while H-O-R-S-E between guys doing high-flying dunks might be fun to watch, two old guys shooting jumpers just isn’t that interesting. And did Stuart Scott really have to scream “Booyah” every time someone hit a jumper? I know he was trying to make something dreadfully boring seem entertaining, but he was just annoying to listen to. I don’t know who the creative team is for All-Star weekend is, but no one wants to watch a half-court game involving Blist celebrities, veterans, WNBA players and two average NBA players. While I know Dominique Wilkins — “the human highlight film” was one of the most exciting players in NBA history — it was just sad to see him over the weekend. Fine, the Atlanta fans wanted to see the franchise’s best player, but a sluggish ’Nique going 4-for-16 from the field impressed no one. What are Ashton Kutcher and Frankie Muniz doing on a basketball court during the All-Star weekend? I know the NBA has been struggling to find stars with Jordan set to depart but do we really need to see B-list actors bricking shots at the All-Star game? Historically, this weekend has been filled with awful ideas ranging from the NBA-WNBA two ball competition to the Legends Classic game which looked more like a game between out-of-breath weekend warriors than a showcase of some of the game’s greats. H-O-R-S-E was really a good idea but don’t do it with guys who are closer to AARP then their glory days. see MEACHIN, page 6
SCOREBOARD Women’s tennis BROWN 6, Syracuse 1 Men’s basketball BROWN 61, Dartmouth 53 BROWN 91, Harvard 86 Women’s basketball Dartmouth 74, BROWN 68 Harvard 72, BROWN 61 Women’s gymnastics BROWN team took third place in a tri-meet with Yale and U.R.I. Men’s hockey BROWN 3, Union 2 R.P.I. 4, BROWN 3 OT
Women’s hockey Dartmouth 3, BROWN 0 BROWN 4, Vermont 1 Men’s swimming and diving BROWN 125.5, Army 117.5 Columbia 148, Yale 146, BROWN 93 Women’s swimming and diving BROWN 172, Yale 122 Men’s track BROWN finishes first at U.R.I. Mega Meet Women’s track BROWN takes third at U.R.I. Invitational
6-0 men’s basketball remains in first with wins over Harvard, Dartmouth
dspics
With first place on the line,men’s basketball will hit the road over the long weekend to face the Princeton Tigers and Pennsylvania Quakers. All three teams have yet to lose in the Ivies. BY JOSHUA TROY
To answer the question that has plagued TNT for the last year and a half, drama is a basketball game between two Ivy League rivals in which neither team leads by more then seven points, features 11 ties and is not decided until the last 10 seconds. For the 2,300 that packed the Pizzitola Sports Center on Friday night despite a snowstorm, the men’s basketball team’s (11-9, 6-0) 91-86 victory over Harvard was as dramatic as any sports fan could have imagined. While Saturday’s contest against Dartmouth was more appropriate for TBS as a comedy of errors, even with a slight letdown, the team was able to knock-off an underrated Big Green team, 61-53. “This group is an older group and is very determined,” said Head Coach Glen Miller. “Right now, we are on a roll and I hope it doesn’t stop.” Winners of six straight and eight of 10 heading into the game with Harvard, Bruno used a well-balanced performance to take down a Harvard team that had played Pennsylvania and Princeton tight last weekend. After taking a seven-point lead with 14:55 to play in the first half, the teams traded field goal and foul shots, leading to a stretch that featured seven ties in the next six and a half minutes. With the Bears up 30-29, the Crimson went on an 8-0 run thanks to four points apiece from Brian Cusworth and Gus Winter and took a 37-30 lead with 4:29 to play in the half. For the second straight home game,
UPenn transfer Harold Bailey ’03 provided a spark off of the bench, draining two straight three-pointers to sandwich a field goal by Harvard. Still down one, Jaime Kilburn ’04 continued his recent stretch of inspired play by blocking two shots, forcing a turnover and then putting in a basket inside the paint. Kilburn was the team’s leading scorer at halftime with eight, on four of four shooting. To close out the half following a 6-0 run by Harvard, Mike Martin ’04 drained a shot from behind the arc to shrink the gap to two, 45-43. “Being out earlier this year and other guys stepping up when I was gone (have) helped our team,” said Earl Hunt ’03. “So many guys stepped up tonight and we are going to need that if we are going to make a championship run.” After trading baskets for the first four minutes of the second half, the Crimson mounted a seven-point lead with key baskets from Winter and the team’s leadingscorer Patrick Harvey. But as they showed all night, the Bears were ready for a fight and Hunt, who scored 18 of his gamehigh 24 points in the second half, was ready to lead the way to victory. With the lead cut to 72-66 with 9:34 to play in the game, Martin and Patrick Powers ’04 hit back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game and Hunt and Alai Nuualiitia ’03 scored the team’s next 15 points to give Brown a 87-81 lead with 1:28 remaining. The intensity of the game continued throughout, as Harvard used an offensive rebound to earn a second three-point
chance and Elliot Prasse-Freeman, third in the nation in assists, delivered, cutting the lead to three. After a driving basket by Jason Forte ’05, Prasse-Freeman added a second three and Harvey drained a two to put the lead at three with 32 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Harvard fouled Forte, but following two missed free throws the Crimson had the ball and the chance to tie. With the game on the line, Harvey missed a three-pointer and Hunt pulled down the rebound and was fouled. Making two foul shots, Hunt closed out the game and sealed the win. Bruno finished with four guys in double-figures, including Nuualiitia and Powers with 15 each, and Forte came up one point shy of a double-double, with nine points and 10 assists. Bailey and Nuualiitia finished tied for the team lead in rebounds, each pulling down seven boards. “If we lose (Saturday), it won’t be because we did not take Dartmouth seriously,” Miller said. “Ivy League basketball is two games in a row on the weekend,” Hunt said. “We need to sleep this one off and get ready for the next one.” Despite recognizing the potential for a trap game, coming off the close win against Harvard and Princeton next on the schedule, no one would deny that the game against Dartmouth was closer than it should have been and everyone, fans included, was still emotionally hung-over see M. BASKETBALL, page 9
Women’s basketball swept on weekend road trip The Brown women’s basketball team (109,4-2 Ivy League) suffered its first two losses in league play over the weekend, losing to Harvard, 72-61, and to Dartmouth, 74-68. Against Harvard on Friday, the Bears were down by 15 at halftime, getting outscored 41-26, but came out strong in the second half and outscored the Crimson 35-31. Colleen Kelly ’06 led Brown with 19 points, 17 in the second half. Kelly also pulled down five boards, dished out three assists and grabbed two steals. The only other Bear scoring in double digits was Tanara Golston ’04 with 11
points. Golston also recorded five rebounds and led Brown in assists with four. Nyema Mitchell ’04 had seven rebounds and also netted nine points. Sarah Hayes ’06 and Holly Robertson ’05 both added seven points apiece. Hayes led the Bears in rebounds with eight as Robertson pulled down five. Hayes also led the team in steals with four and dished out three assists. Jackie Vocell ’06 and Ashley Van Kurin ’06 combined for eight points. In the second game vs. Dartmouth, Brown again trailed at halftime but went on a 10-2 run at the beginning of the sec-
ond half to come within three points but would get no closer for the remainder of the game. The Bears were once again led by Kelly with 21 points, 15 from behind the threepoint arc. Kelly also pulled down seven rebounds. Golston had 13 points and Hayes added 12. Golston led the Bears in assists with five as Hayes pulled down eight boards. Van Kurin led Brown in steals with six, had five points and four rebounds. The Bears will host UPenn and Princeton in the Pizzitola Sports Center this weekend, both starting at 7 p.m. —Brown Sports Information