Cagers Win Two at Tourney Before Falling to Pitt, Duke

Harvard's basketball team split its four games over the Christmas recess, winning two at the Connecticut Classic over Connecticut and Yale before dropping single games at Pittsburgh and Duke, to leave its record at 5-4 for the season.

In the Connecticut Classic at Storrs, Conn., balanced scoring helped Harvard up its four-point halftime margin over U. Conn. to a final 80-70 score. In a very physical contest, the Crimson attack got its big boost when guard Hal Smith hit three quick lay ups in the final five minutes to ice the game for Harvard.

The next day, coach Bob Harrison's squad held off a scrappy Yale five, 79-72. The Crimson led by 10 points at the half, but the Elis pulled within two with six minutes left. Jim Fitzsimmons, who led the Harvard scoring attack with 19 points and was the only Crimson player to make the All-Tournament team, helped put the game out of Yale's reach. Ken Wolfe was excellent in the contest hitting his first five out of six from the field and his 14 first-half points kept Harvard ahead early.

In both games the Crimson's shooting was off, hovering around 36 per cent for the tournament. Syracuse, the other team in the tournament topped Yale, 78-72, before smashing U. Conn., 108-76.

Heartbreaker

At Pittsburgh, on Dec. 29, the Crimson lost a heartbreaker in the final 37 seconds, 75-73. In the first half, Harvard led by as much as nine points. Down by four, 18-14, the Crimson reeled off 10 straight points enroute to a one-point lead at the half.

Marshall Sanders and Tony Jenkins both had good games in a losing cause. Jenkins, moved to center due to the loss of Floyd Lewis with a dislocated finger, responded with 16 points and 17 rebounds. Sanders had 16 points and held Mooney Knight, a possible all-American choice who scored 37 points against UCLA and has been averaging 25 a game, to just 19 points.

It was a see-saw second half which finally found Harvard rebounding from a seven-point deficit to tie the game with three minutes remaining. With 37 seconds left, Pitt went ahead by two. The Crimson brought the ball down court, Jenkins missed a five-footer, and Pitt was able to run out the clock as Harrison (maniacally) screamed at his players to foul.

At Duke, Harvard played a good first half and found itself trading by eight. Unfortunately, the second half proved disastrous as the Blue Devils blew the Crimson off the court to the tune of 102-76. Jenkins again had a good game, hitting for 18 points and nabbing nine rebounds.