Cagers Lose to UConn, 80-52

The University of Connecticut's talented basketball team turned Harvard's first home game Saturday night into a 40-minute non-stop nightmare for the Crimson. The Huskies won by 28 points, 80-52, to spoil Tom "Satch" Sanders' dreams of a successful coaching debut in the IAB.

By halftime there was no doubt about the outcome, as UConn led 39-24. Some of the crowd, estimated at 1100 strong at the start, decided to leave.

The Connecticut big men, Cal Chapman, Gary Custick and Earl Wilson dominated the backboards in the first half to trigger a devastating fast break with quick outlet passes to the Huskie guards.

Stingy Defense

A stingy UConn defense, alternating from zone to man-to-man, bottled up the Harvard offense in the first half. Harvard's shot selection was not bad, but the ball just wasn't dropping through.

The second half was no better. Sanders tried substituting and a short Harvard spurt brought the crowd alive. But UConn regrouped and continued to pour the points in, despite a fullcourt press by the Crimson.

It was a miserable evening for the Crimson five in almost every category. The statistics reflect the dismal play of Harvard: the team as a whole shot 25.6 per cent from the floor and 50 per cent from the foul line.

The bright sports for Harvard were the play of junior guard Mike Griffin and underclassmen Steve Selinger and Bill Carey.

Hard-Nosed Game

Griffin played a hard-nosed game, despite stitches over one eye for an injury received in the Dartmouth game, forcing offensive fouls by UConn and scrambling on defense.

Selinger, a 6 ft. 1 in. junior, came off the bench in the second half to spark the Crimson. He scored nine points, most of them on challenging the UConn big men with drives to the basket.

Carey, who plays a bit like Phil Jackson of the New York Knicks, dove to the floor several times to recover loose balls and get the Crimson's running game going. Cary, a sophomore, finished with four rebounds.

Tony Jenkins had a rough night. He shot three for 20 from the field and converted only half of his eight free throw attempts. In fairness, however, Jenkins had his hands full defensively and did a good job battling the UConn big men, blocking several open layups and pulling down a game high 12 rebounds.

Jenkins and Ken Wolfe were the top scorers for Harvard, totaling 10 points each. Selinger had nine and Lou Silver and Mike Griffin followed with eight points apiece. Silver grabbed 11 rebounds.

Two UConn guards, Jimmy Foster and Tony Hanson, did tremendous damage to Crimson hopes, and both finished with 14 points. Hanson, a 6 ft. 4 in. freshman playing varsity, came on the floor at the end of the first half and scored four baskets during a UConn rally that put the game out of reach.

Foster, along with running mate Al Weston, ran the UConn fastbreak all evening. Foster constantly penetrated the Harvard defense for a medium range jumpshot or a drive to the basket.

Underneath, Wilson, Chapman, Custick and 6 ft. 8 in. John Thomas dominated play and pulled down a total of 37 rebounds for the night. Wilson laid in 12 points and Chapman tallied 11.

The loss dipped Harvard's record to 1-2 while the record of Dee Rowe's Connecticut squad advanced to 2-1.