HOOPSTERS LOSE 37-34 IN ROUGH ELI CONTEST

Friday the thirteenth proved too much for the Varsity and Freshman basketball teams as they dropped two decisions to Yale at Now Haven last Friday night in the final game for each team this year.

Coach Earl Brown's men were decisively' outplayed by a spirited Blue quintet, which would have rolled up even more of a score had it not been for its poor shooting. The final score was 37 to 34.

In the first half, neither team enjoyed more than a short lead, and as the half ended, Harvard had only a two-point 19 to 17 advantage.

Rough Game

The game was one of the roughest games of the year as the Elis completely covered the Crimson players. Hugh Hyde and Bunks Burditt, in their regular slots on the double-bucket offense, were so much out of the picture that they had only a few chances to receive passes or take shots.

As the second half opened, the Elis, led by high-scoring Tom Vogt, gained a 28 to 23 load only to have the visitors come back with Ed Buckley's seven straight points to take a slight lead. But from this point on, Yale slowly began to edge out in front.

With three minutes to go, Harvard came within one point of catching up to their rivals but fell behind when the pressure was on as Yale succeeded in freezing the ball.

The high-scoring Freshman cagers were handcuffed by an underdog Eli defense that was so tight that the Yardlings were limited to ten points in the entire first half. The '45 team pierced the Blue line of defense but rarely, and then most of the shots went wide of their mark. The final score was 50-40.

Trailing 42-10 at mid-time, the Crimson five rallied behind Dean Hennessy's scoring spree to within eight points of the Yale yearlings, who then found their own scoring stopped by desperate Freshman guards. The closing gun found the Elis harassed, but well in front of the surprised Yardlings.

Henessy's 15 points led the losers' scoring efforts in the closing contest for a Freshman quintet that showed flashes of brilliance, and finished the campaign with a creditable record of eleven wins and five defeats. The first five of Hennessy, Frank Bixler, Don Richards, Mike DeLeo, and Captain Mike Keene compiled a record scoring total.

The Varsity summary:   gls.  fls.  pts. Hyde  3  1  7 Buckley  6  1  13 Webber  1  1  3 Burditt  1  2  4 Finegan  0  2  2 Rothschild  2  1  5 Totals  13  8  34