Five Shocks Wesleyan With Late Surge, 79-76

A fired-up Crimson basketball team charged from behind in the last 30 seconds of play last night to hand powerful Wesleyan a shocking 79-76 defeat.

The walls of the IAB were pulsating as Harvard, trailing by 10 points with eight minutes to play, whittled away the lead of the hot-shooting Cardinals. It was an extraordinary battle--and this is no ordinary Harvard basketball team.

At the outset, it looked like typical Crimson basketball: miserable. When the game was only 4:53 old, Cardinal senior Paul Brands--a magician with a basketball--had given Wesleyan a comfortable 14-5 lead. Brands scored 12 of the 14 points, driving through the Crimson man-to-man, defense repeatedly. He didn't miss a shot until midway in the third quarter.

The vocal fans got their first real excitement in the second quarter, when sophomore Keith Sedlacek came off the bench. As the crowd stomped and yelled "Shoot, Keith, Shoot!" Sedlacek responded by pumping in four straight 20-footers. But for every one of these beauties. Wesleyan fed the ball to 6 ft. 6 in. Winthrop "Winky" Davenport, who evaded the ineffectual defense of Merle McClung to keep Wesleyan safely ahead. The Redbirds left the court at halftime with a 37-31 advantage.

Harvard's shooters were sizzling when the second half opened; paced by Bob "The Stork" Inman, they hit on 8 of 10 from the floor. But Wesleyan was just as hot, and when Harvard began to cool off the Cards pulled in front 66-56 with eight minutes to play.

But this Crimson quintet has poise, talent, and guts. They never gave up. McClung, who had 29 points for the night, collected a three-point play and a pair of hook shots underneath the basket. Aided by an errant Wesleyan pass and a traveling violation, Harvard shaved the margin to 66-63.

Just as important as McClung's shooting was the sterling defensive play of Bob Inman. The Crimson captain succeeded in bottling up Brand's drive and forced him to shoot from the outside.

With 38 seconds left and Harvard trailing 74-73, Sedlacek lofted a long one which went astray, but McClung drew a foul when he grabbed the rebound and deadlocked the game with a free throw. A few seconds later he was fouled again and calmly sank two shots which put the game on ice.

The Crimson showed amazing poise in coming from far back to beat a team which was shooting at a 56 per cent clip from the floor. This could be the best basketball team Harvard has produced in at least five years.