Quintet Mashes Amherst, 100-64; Three Starters Score 20 Points

It was a lovely way to start the season.

Harvard's basketball team destroyed Amherst last night, 100 to 64 as three Crimson starters scored 20 points or more and the squad sank an impressive 52.5 per cent of its shots. The 100-point output was the second greatest in Harvard's 61-year basketball history.

All-Ivy center Merle McClung scored 23 points, hitting nine of eleven shots and employing his patented over-the-head flip with devastating effectiveness. Keith S edlacek scored 20, although his jump shot was not functioning exceptionally well. Barry Williams had 15 points.

But the most impressive performance of the evening was turned in by sophomore guard Gene Dressler, who scored 20 points. Dressler hit on nine of fourteen field goal attempts, scoring on seven jump shots from outside, one fast break, and one dazzling drive.

But before fans start frothing with undue enthusiasm about the victory, it should be pointed out that Amherst was pretty terrible. The Lord Jeffs sank only 38 of 69 shots and threw the ball away repeatedly.

Dressler scored eight points in the first seven minutes of play, but with 13:45 left in the half the score was still a respectable 12 to 7. Then the Crimson busted loose, while bad ball-handling cost the Jeffs possession 13 times in the half. Sedlacek hit three straight baskets late in the first quarter to put the Crimson ahead 25-11. The score gradually mounted to 40-18, and at the half it was 50-31.

The boisterous crowd of 500 in the IAB knew the Crimson had a good chance to score a hundred, but midway in the third quarter the prospects began to look fairly remote. Even though Amherst's star forward Ken Howard had fouled out, Harvard led by only 65-48 with 14 minutes left in the contest.

Then McClung, who owns a basketfull of Harvard scoring records, took over. He scored nine straight points for the Crimson on two over-the-head specials, a foul shot, a tip-in, and a feed from Dressler.

Harvard rolled up the lead to 90-57 with 4:50 to play, and by that time the whole starting lineup was sitting on the bench. The crowd stomped and yelled for a hundred, and with 1:36 to play guard Bill Fegley swished two foul shots to give the Crimson its 99th and 100th points.

The victory will make the team's statistics glisten, but it didn't prove too much about the Crimson's true capabilities. That will be determined in the next two weeks when Harvard plays at Springfield, Connecticut, and Boston College.