For the past five weeks, while most Brown students were at home for winter break, the men's basketball team was on a bit of a hot streak. The Bears went 3-2 in non-league games over the break, winning six of their last nine games in all. They set a Brown all-time high - No. 86 - in the Ratings Percentage Index, the system that helps the NCAA Tournament selection committee pick its teams.
But in a small league that will send only one team to the tournament, the Bears need to win the league if it wants to be that team. On Saturday, the Bears started off on the wrong foot, losing their league opener at Yale, 66-63, in overtime.
The Bears (8-7 overall, 0-1 Ivy) led 57-55 with 1:22 left in regulation after guard Mark McAndrew '08 hit a three-pointer, but Yale forward Caleb Holmes tied the game by hitting a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left.
Brown and Yale (7-8, 1-0 Ivy) traded baskets to begin overtime. With the score tied at 61, Yale's Eric Flato hit a three-pointer. Guard Damon Huffman '08 made a lay-up to bring the score to 64-63, but Flato hit two free throws to bring the lead back to three. After a McAndrew foul, Holmes missed two free throws giving Brown a chance to tie, but Huffman missed a three-pointer, and Peter Sullivan '11 missed another after an offensive rebound.
Despite making just 17 precent of their three-pointers, the Bulldogs, who were picked to finish second in a preseason media poll (the Bears were picked fifth), kept the game close by out-rebounding the Bears, 40-28. Yale took advantage of 12 offensive rebounds for 16 second-chance points.
"We kept their three outside shooters from beating us," Head Coach Craig Robinson said. "Unfortunately, we had two other guys who were killing us on the boards and putting back easy lay-ups."
The Bears led 31-25 at halftime, but Yale went on a 10-0 run to start the second half. Brown then trailed for the rest of the half until Huffman sank a free throw to make it 54-53 with 2:19 left.
Losing the Ivy opener was a disappointment after what Robinson considered a successful non-league season. Brown's eight non-league wins were the second most since it began Ivy League play in 1954, and its RPI led the league entering the Yale game.
"The non-conference part of our schedule was really tough and I thought that we really did a pretty god job of handling ourselves," Robinson said. "If you had told me that at the end that we'd be eight and six, I would have been like, 'Nah, no way.'"
Some highlights from over winter break:
Dec. 22, at Hartford: Swingman Chris Skrelja '09 scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Bears to a 79-61 victory. The game started at 11 a.m., and the Bears' comfort in the morning might have had something to do with their daily 5 a.m. practices last semester. The Bears big upset of the season so far - beating Northwestern at their arena - also started at 11 a.m.
Dec. 29, at Notre Dame: The Big East team just "overmatched" the Bears and "took it right to us," Robinson said. The Fighting Irish started off on an 18-8 run and never looked back, eventually winning 87-54. Huffman scored 21 points and became the 20th player to score 1,000 points in Brown history.
Jan. 2, at Army: With Brown down four points with 22 seconds left, Huffman scored five points to lead the Bears to a stunning 79-78 win. Down 78-74, Huffman completed a three-point play with 15.2 seconds left. After Army missed the first shot of a one-and-one, Huffman hit a 10-foot jump shot with 1.7 seconds left to win the game.
Jan. 4, vs. American: Huffman continued his hot shooting, scoring 29 points as the Bears won 68-55. Brown led for nearly the entire game.
Jan. 8., at Baylor: Brown couldn't stop freshman LaceDarius Dunn, who scored 27 points as Baylor, who are also the Bears, beat their Providence cousins, 72-62.
Robinson said he was happy with how the Bears finished their non-league schedule, saying that the team "just got better and better" with each game.
Now, he believes his team is ready to compete for the league championship.
"That's a lot to shoot for," Robinson said, "but at the beginning of the season, I didn't see us competing for the championship. I figured we go from fifth in the league to maybe third. But if we can play the way we've been playing, we should compete for the league."
The Bears will have a chance to avenge their loss at Yale on Saturday, when the Bulldogs visit the Pizzitola Center. The game is scheduled for 3 p.m.
