Basketball Team Nips Indians; Closes Season With 64-62 Drama

The Crimson basketball team made tough work out of an easy assignment, but added a dramatic ending to its season as it beat Dartmouth, 64-62, at Hanover last night.

The luckless Green, fighting desperately to avoid closing its year with its 13th straight loss, tied the game at 62-all with 40 seconds remaining.

The Crimson, playing for one shot, killed 38 seconds, then, you guessed it, gave the ball to all-time scoring record holder, Keith Sedlacek. The 6-1 senior arched his famous jump shot for the last time in a Harvard uniform, and Dartmouth was dead.

It took them a long time to roll over, however, for a team that went through its Ivy League schedule with a spotless win column, and beat only Amherst in its last 20 outings. The Indians jumped out to an early lead; and while they never built it to more than four or five points, they held it for a 31-30 half-time advantage.

The lead see-sawed back and forth throughout the second half, with neither team gaining more than a three-point margin.

Harvard's attack rested on the jumpers of Sedlacek, who netted 11 baskets, on those of Jeff Grate and George Neville, who both propped in 5 buckets from the floor, and on the drives of sophomore guard Bobby Beller. Beller, who teamed with Neville in the backcourt for most of the game, was second high point man for the Crimson, with 15.

Barry Williams, though held to 2 points in his final outing as Crimson captain, fought the Indians even off the boards.

It was a wide open contest all the way, with the referees showing a rare disdain for whistle-blowing. The Crimson was awarded only 10 foul shots and Dartmouth 13, in marked contrast to Saturday's game against Yale, in which Harvard was 45 of 56 from the free throw line.

Harvard closed its season with its third straight Ivy win, giving it a respectable 6-8 mark and fifth place. Also last night, Penn cruised to the Ivy title, beating Princeton 56-48, while second-place Columbia lost to Cornell, 34-73.