Top 5 Finishes of 2013

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The past year was full of shocking comebacks and jaw-dropping buzzer beaters. Here's a list of the five craziest.
The past year was full of shocking comebacks and jaw-dropping buzzer beaters. Here’s a list of the five craziest.

As the calendar year winds to a close, let’s look back at some of the most exciting Ivy League basketball finishes in 2013.

Honorable Mentions:

  • February 2, 2013: Cornell over Penn, 71-69. Galal Cancer’s bank shot in the closing seconds lifted the Big Red to a big win in the Palestra.
  • February 2, 2013: Harvard over Brown, 89-82 2OT. On that same night, Harvard battled Brown through two thrilling overtimes at Lavietes. In regulation, Sean McGonagill’s jump shot with one second left completed a seven point comeback in the final 1:57. In the first OT, Steven Albrecht’s trey sent the game to a second extra period with just :20 on the clock. The Crimson grabbed the W behind Wes Saunders and Christian Webster’s efforts in the second OT.
  • March 8, 2013: Penn over Brown, 66-64. In a bizarre finish after Penn rallied from six down with two minutes left, Brown had a foul to give with 1.1 seconds left in a tie game. Steve Albrecht fouled Miles Cartwright immediately on receiving the inbounds, but Cartwright managed to draw the shooting foul by chucking the ball at the hoop. He sunk two of three with :00.7 on the clock to win it for Penn.
  • November 22, 2013: Siena over Cornell, 71-70. Up 10 with 3:54 to go, Bill Courtney picked up a technical foul and Siena went on a 10-1 run, completing their comeback with 6.5 seconds to play on a putback. Tarwater’s three missed at the buzzer as Cornell’s winless streak dragged on.

5. November 12, 2013: Manhattan over Columbia, 71-70.

Game Reset: The Lions led their NYC rival 70-67 as the clock dwindled under 10 seconds. Michael Alvarado’s pump fake got Maodo Lo in the air, earning the Jaspers three shots at the stripe with :4.0 to go. Alvarado’s first missed. His second was good. His third shot drew the back iron, and fell toward the left block. Emmy Andujar grabbed it and missed long on the putback, but George Beamon was on the weak side and his follow-up banked home as the buzzer and whistle sounded. Though it took some sorting out in the chaos, Beamon had tied the game while being fouled right at the buzzer. The officials put 0.5 seconds back on the clock, and Beamon stepped to the stripe and calmly drained the free throw for a 71-70 lead. Columbia’s desperation alley-oop to Luke Petrasek just missed and Manhattan escaped Levien with an unlikely victory.


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4. November 26, 2013: Yale over Lafayette, 79-76.

Game Reset: After Lafayette tied the game on a Joey Ptasinski jumper with :03.5 on the clock, Yale put the ball in the hands of junior point guard Javier Duren. He did not disappoint, hurrying the ball into the frontcourt and launching a 30 foot homing missile that found nothing but nylon, giving the Bulldogs a thrilling road victory in Easton, PA.

3. March 2, 2013: Brown over Columbia, 61-58.

Game Reset: Two Alex Rosenberg free throws tied the game at 58 with three seconds to play. Inbounding past midcourt and calling a timeout with just :01.1 on the clock, Mike Martin must have known that his game-winning play required little time to execute. He was right as Tucker Halpern used a high screen and faded to the far wing, catching an on-point pass from Matt Sullivan and draining the shot to steal the victory. Keep an eye on Martin in the video. He starts walking to midcourt when it leaves Halpern’s hands.

2. January 26, 2013: Harvard over Dartmouth, 82-77 OT.

Game Reset: On a national TV stage, Dartmouth came out and played inspired basketball, dominating the Crimson for 38 minutes. It wasn’t enough though, as Christian Webster bailed out Harvard with an astonishing late-game shooting performance. Down 57-47 with 1:40 to play, Christian Webster hit three 3s and Siyani Chambers tied the game with a layup in the closing seconds as Harvard forced overtime and escaped with a win that kept them on track for their second straight solo Ivy title.

1. Princeton over Penn State, 81-79 OT.

Game Reset: Princeton trailed by 18 on the road in a raucous environment with 6:30 to go. They outscored the Nittany Lions 24-6 down the stretch as Will Barrett caught fire, hitting three threes in the final 3:03, all assisted by Bray. In OT, Barrett nailed another three before Princeton held on amidst a series of free throws and clutch stops.