Hoopsters Overhauled Twice In Hall of Fame Tournament

If any team in America knows how to start off a rebuilding year, it's the Harvard basketball team.

As the cagers entered the Hall of Fame Tournament in Springfield Friday night, no knowledgeable basketball fan west of Liverpool would have given them a chance to beat any one of the other three teams involved in the tourney.

Needless to say, in lieu of their two consecutive losses (75-48 to Syracuse and 69-50 to UMass), the Crimson didn't surprise anybody.

But oh, how they tried!

Take for instance Friday night against Syracuse. Jonas Honick was scoring (14 pts. in the game), Steve Irion was cleaning the boards, Coach Tom Sanders was smiling, and there was this young, unexperienced team controlling the play, slowing down the usually fast-breaking Orangemen, and finding themselves down by only two points, 35-33, at the half.

Syracuse's Secret Weapon

But then Syracuse revealed its secret weapon, the second half. Led by talented freshmen Roosevelt Bouie and Louis Orr, the Orangemen stifled the Crimson with zone defense and a reinvigorated fast break. The defense chilled both Irion and Honick ("They both just plain ran out of steam," Sanders said) and the running left Harvard puffing and panting to the tune of a 75-48 final score.

UMass coach Jackie Leaman must have watched that game and taken good notes, because when it came time for Saturday night's consolation game against the Crimson, Leaman's Minutemen were ready and waiting with the same zone defense that Syracuse had used.

After having this monkey wrench thrown into the Crimson offensive