Quintet Stuns Penn, 76-67

Bring on Princeton!

Harvard does indeed have a basketball team. Trailing by 11 points in the second half, the Crimson stormed from behind to defeat Ivy powerhouse, Pennsylvania, 76 to 67.

The stunning victory was a preamble to tonight's sell-out contest against Princeton. Although the Tigers have the best collegiate basketball player in the country, Bill Bradley, on their team, they will have a real fight on their hands if Harvard can duplicate its performance against Penn.

Keith Sedlacek scored 32 points for Harvard against the Quakers while Barry Williams and merle McClung grabbed 29 rebounds between them. A decisive element in the Crimson's victory was foul shooting, which had been consistently mediocre until tonight: Harvard sank 28 out of 31 from the free throw line.

Penn, which was a contender for the Ivy title until 9:30 p.m. yesterday, got off to a quick start. The Quaker fast break was functioning well, and the shooting of Stan Pawlak and Jeff Neuman put Penn in front 24-14 after ten minutes had elapsed. Although Sedlacek scored 18 points in the first half, missing only one shot, Penn held a 41-36 lead at halftime.

But as the second half began, disaster seemed imminent for the Crimson. It took Harvard five minutes to score its first point, and the Quakers led 47-36. But with 14:24 to play, and the score 50-40, Harvard's basketball team came of age. Sedlacek swished a pair of jump shots, McClung and Williams sank foul shots.

Then, after a Penn basket, Williams hit a fallaway jumper from the key, followed it with a foul shot, and Sedlacek scored on a pair of free throws to put the Crimson in front, 53-52.

Some clutch shooting by Neuman enabled Penn to tie it at 57-all, and then Harvard's offense exploded. Williams, at the high post, fed into McClung, who flipped the ball over his head and over the arms of 6-8 John Hellings and added a foul shot for a three-point play.

Thirty seconds later Sedlacek hit a long bomb from the corner, and shortly thereafter McClung made a beautiful pass to Williams, whose basket put Harvard seven points ahead and out of reach. As the walls of the IAB pulsated, Crimson coach Floyd Wilson actually stood up!

It was certainly the most memorable night in the IAB since Harvard upset Princeton last year. And if Harvard does not have a letdown this evening, history might repeat itself.