Quakers Nip Fired Up Crimson, 80-75

The Crimson cagers hooked up with Ivy League leviathan Pennsylvania last night at the Palestra in a down to the wire donnybrook before losing, 80-75.

The hoopsters turned in a torrid first half with Brain Banks cutting loose for 12 points and Doc Hines dropping three field goals from the perimeter in the early going.

After trailing 14-10, Hines's shooting binge eased the Crimson into the catbird seat, 16-14. The Crimson was still treading on velvet when the half closed out with the visitors on top, 38-33.

No Zip

When play resumed, the cagers' fluid scoring punch had as much zip left as cold mashed potatoes. The two biggest cogs thrown into the Crimson machinery were the Quakers' leading scorers John Engels, who skied for 27 points, and Keven McDonald. The two average 15.6 and 18.8 points per game respectively.

The Quakers went on a 19-point scoring tear to kick off the half while holding the Crimson to a piddling output of six. Penn had jetted to a 52-44 lead before the scoring flurry ebbed.

Penn was clasping a six-point edge when Harvard's Bill Carey was fouled on a bungled layup. Carey's second attempt from the line misfired, but Banks netted the rebound to make it 71-68.

Penn switched over to a stall in the waning minutes, which baited the Crimson into committing two personal fouls. Harvard had 23 personals on the evening and the Quakers shot 16-23 from the free-throw line.

The Crimson refused to roll over, clawing to within 75-71 in the last minute of play after guard Jeff Hill rippled two from the line. After Carey popped from six feet out with 21 seconds showing, the Crimson seemed on the verge of a cataclysmic upset after languishing all week in the Ivy League cellar.

The spoiler was McDonald, who shook loose for a layup and converted the three-point play after he was fouled by Carey to put the game out of reach.

The closing lapse negated a sterling effort on the part of the Crimson. Banks banged home a pacesetting 22 points on 8-14 shooting while snagging 13 rebounds. Hines followed with 16 points and guard Glen Fine deftly dealt seven assists.

After last night's rankling loss, the Crimson will once again try to bid adieu to disappointment and spleen when it scraps with Ivy League super-dreadnought Princeton tonight at Jadwin Gymnasium.

The fifteenth-ranked Tigers will not come as a highly recommended restorative for the ailing Crimson.