Neville Leads Crimson in 74-70 Win; Hoopsters Capture First Ivy Victory

After losing his position on the starting five for the first time all year, Harvard guard George Neville came off the bench last night and led the Crimson to its first Ivy League victory of the season.

Neville scored 22 points, hitting nine of twelve shots from the floor, as Harvard defeated Dartmouth, 74 to 70, in the IAB.

The game was an incredibly sluggish and sloppy affair throughout most of the first half, and was tied 15-15 with eight minutes to play. Then Neville entered the game. He sank every shot he attempted--three from the corner, two from the circle, and one free throw--giving the Crimson a 34-26 halftime lead.

Harvard never relinquished that advantage, but the Indians fought back gamely in the second half. Leading 43-33, the Crimson committed three straight ball-handling errors and Dartmouth cut the margin to 47-43.

Two quick baskets by Barry Williams gave Harvard a little breathing room, but Dartmouth came charging back again. Pete Dunlop, a 6-5 forward who had 28 points for the game, scored on a three point play, swished two jump shots from the corner, then stole the ball and scored on a layup. That made it 56-54 with 7:33 to play.

Three minutes later Harvard's lead was still a tenuous 60-58, but Dartmouth began to commit an extraordinary number of fouls.

In the last four minutes, 20 seconds of the game. Harvard had 16 foul shots, and made 14 of them. Seven of the free throws were made by Keith Sedlacek. With the Crimson's foul shooting accuracy, Dartmouth was never able to make serious inroads on the Harvard lead.

Barry Williams, Gene Dressler, and Sedlacek all scored in double figures. Williams had 15 points and Dressler 11. Sedlacek, guarded very closely throughout the game by Bill Engster, had only three field goals, but sank 10 of 11 from the foul line.

Lynn Bennion and Jeff Grate, who replaced John Scott and Neville in the starting lineup, were not especially impressive last night. One person who did turn in a surprisingly good performance was 6-5 sophomore Jim Griswold. Although he can't shoot or dribble with any competence. Griswold rebounded well and blocked three Dartmouth shots.

The victory gave Harvard a 5-10 season record, and a 1-4 mark in the Ivy League. After the exam period layoff, the Crimson will resume play on February 4 and 5 against Princeton and Penn in the IAB. IVY LEAGUE STANDINGS Pennsylvania  4-0 Princeton  4-0 Columbia  4-0 Cornell  3-2 Yale  1-3 HARVARD  1-4 Brown  1-4 Dartmouth  0-5