Upsets Rock Ivy League Hoop Scene

Harvard's rollercoaster basketball season hit another valley last night, as the hoopsters dropped a 77-69 decision to lowly Yale and blew a golden opportunity to pull above .500 in Ivy League play.

The Bulldogs, behind the strong outside shooting of junior captain Jim Yent, who finished the night with a season-high 22 points, continued to take advantage of the sluggish Harvard defense to take a 39-26 edge into the locker room at halftime.

And the first-half stats proved none too good for the boys from Cambridge, as their scoring punch was severely missed from both Glenn Fine and Bob Hooft who registered about as much offense as an old lady from Dubuque, teaming up for a mere two-point total in the stanza.

But with 16:45 left in the game, Harvard coach Frank McLaughlin shifted the tempo in the Crimson's favor with a fullcourt press, Cy Booker hit for a deuce and Bob Allen connected on consecutive shots to narrow the margin to two, 43-41.

The game was to be no closer, though as Yent drove around Fine to unsettle the beat. Ackermann then missed a pair of free throws, and Hooft followed with three consecutive miscues from the charity stripe, allowing the ol'Blues to once again up the lead to eight, at 51-43.

Two Jolson slam dunks kept Harvard down at 61-53, but Hooft suddenly came alive with 19 second-half tallies as the Crimson crept back to within two, 65-63. It was only the shade of Dartmouth, with two full-court Eli passes breaking the game open again, and the Crimson fell to 10-15, while Yale upped their Ivy slate to 3-10, and 8-15 overall.