The men's basketball team continues its lengthy stretch of road games and quest for the Ivy League championship with a pair of games at Cornell and Columbia this weekend, the eighth and ninth consecutive road games for the Bears. After splitting this past weekend's games at perennial league powers Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, the Bears are now 8-8 overall and 1-1 in the Ivies.
Co-captain Luke Ruscoe '06 realizes the magnitude of the upcoming weekend's games.
"It's going to be a tough trip," said Ruscoe. "They are both good teams who have had success against us in the past. We have to come to play and come out with two wins to stay in the hunt for the Ivy title."
The Bears upset pre-season favorite Princeton on Friday, before falling to Penn the following night. The split put Brown in the midst of a tight race for the Ivy title and its accompanying NCAA Tournament bid. After the first full weekend of Ivy matchups, Penn holds the top spot with a weekend sweep over Yale and Brown. The remaining seven teams are either one or two games behind the Quakers.
Brown's win at Princeton should serve as notice to the other Ivy contenders that they are ready to raise an Ivy championship banner in the Pizzitola for the first time since 1986. The Bears had won just twice at Princeton in the previous 54 years before Friday's victory, but with the 57-52 victory, Brown has now won twice at Jadwin Gymnasium in the past three years.
Co-captain Jason Forte '05 has been the catalyst behind the Bears' offensive attack. He leads the team in points with 17.2 per game and assists with 4.3 per game. The reigning Ivy League Player of the Year is also continuing his assault on Brown's all-time scorers list. With 1,351 career points, he moved past Marcus Thomas '89, Mike Cingiser '62, and Alai Nuualiitia '03 over the weekend, good for third-best all time.
While Forte has led the offense, Ruscoe has been Brown's "glue guy." He leads the team in rebounds with 5.6 per game and steals with 1.9 per game and is second in scoring with 12.6 points per game. Ruscoe feels that defense will be the key to a successful trip to Cornell and Columbia.
"We are a high-tempo team, so we can always score," Ruscoe said. "We've got to make stops on the defensive end to win."
As expected, the road games have left the Brown players exhausted, but they have posted a respectable 4-3 record during the span.
"It's draining. Being on the road will wear you down. Cornell and Columbia is a long trip, but we will still come to play." Ruscoe said.
The Bears have been getting significant contributions from their underclassmen. Adolphe Coulibaly '08 has secured a spot in the starting rotation, while Damon Huffman '08 logged a team-high 32 minutes against Penn. Sophomores P.J. Flaherty '07 and Marcus Becker '07 have also found their niche in the Bears lineup, playing supporting roles to Forte and Ruscoe.
Following this weekend's games, Brown will finally return to Providence for a pair of games against Harvard and Dartmouth on Feb. 11 and 12.
