Basketball Team Defeats Chiefs, Overcoming Sloppy Ball Handling

Alternating streaks of sloppy ball-handling and well-executed fast breaks, the Harvard basketball team ran its way to an 87-72 victory over Springfield last night in the IAB.

The Chiefs were outmanned in every department-shooting, rebounding, speed, and talent. But their determination kept them within six at half-time. During the middle of the second half, Springfield chopped a Crimson lead from 21 to seven.

Harvard met the Chiefs' challenge every time, but didn't play the consistent basketball necessary to run up a convincing lead. En route to its third win against one loss, the Crimson turned the ball over 35 times and committed 26 personal fouls.

The Crimson started the game with four straight turnovers, but Springfield, which shot 32 per cent from the floor, could only score five free throws. Harvard tallied seven points despite its sloppy ballhandling, and never trailed after that.

With sophomore forward Floyd Lewis pounding the boards, 14 rebounds in the first half and 24 for the game, the Crimson moved ahead by 11 before the Chiefs Dana Anderson, who led all scorers with 30 points, started to whittle away the Harvard lead. The Crimson went into the locker room at half-time ahead, 41-35.

"The staff isn't happy," said Harvard head coach Bob Harrison after the game. "We had advantages on them in every respect, and should have been ready to bomb them. But we weren't and I don't know why," he said.

The Crimson started the second half the way it started the second half, the way it started the first half, and the Chiefs' tied the score. But then Dale Dover, who paced the Crimson with 22 points tallied a three-point play to put Harvard in the lead to stay.

Bozek had his best game to date, scoring 15 points and getting five assists. He and Lewis, who tallied 20 points mainly on tip-ins, helped the team inch ahead by 13 midway through the second half, and with a boost from sophomore forward Eric Fox, who came off the bench to grab seven rebounds in 11 minutes. Harvard stretched its advantage to 21.

When Springfield capitalized on Crimson mistakes due to its zone press, the lead shriveled to seven. Then Harvard put together a series of consistent fast breaks to stop the Chiefs' comeback.

"I guess the team just has to learn how to play together, but our attitude is still good, so I'm sure we'll put it together more and more as the season goes on," junior guard Matt Bozek, who sparked several of the squad's consistent streaks, said after the game.

"And that was just the frying pan," Harrison said after the game. "Now we get into the fire with a grinding holiday schedule."

The squad leaves Sunday for a Tuesday night game against St. Louis University, and on Dec. 21 faces Michigan in the opening round of the Michigan Invitational at Ann Arbor.

The Harvard freshman team, after winning its season opener against B. U., has lost three straight games, including an 84-74 defeat at the hands of a tall Springfield team last night. Tony Jenknis, a 6-7 forward, paced the Yardlings with 19 points and 19 rebounds.