Last-Second Jumper Lifts Cagers Past UNH... ...While Late Iceman Surge Fails Against Brown

And you thought Crimson hoop cocaptain Tom Mannix--out the last two games with a couple of dislocated fingers on his shooting hand--wasn't going to rejoin the lineup until the game at Texas December 29.

Well, so did coach Frank McLaughlin and so did Mannix himself--at least before the start of Saturday night's last minute, come-from-behind 80-79 Crimson victory over UNH at the IAB.

But he did play and turned in the game's crucial performance, including a pressure 18-ft. jumper with just 23 seconds left to seal the victory.

Down by seven, 77-70, with just 5:05 to go, the Crimson battled back to 78-77 on an eight foot Don Fleming jumper with two minutes left. UNH forward Bob Neeley and Crimson guard Calvin Dixon exchanged missed free throws, and Harvard then got the ball courtesy of a Joe Carrabino rebound with 52 seconds left.

As the Crimson tried to run out the clock by settling into a stall, New Hampshire guard Robin Dixon intercepted a Fleming to Dixon pass and drove the length of the court for an easy two points and a 79-78 Wildcat lead. Following the inbounds pass, Mannix manuevered to the left side of the key and let loose with the game-winning shot.

"I didn't feel like anyone else was taking charge out there," he said after the game, "It was just one of those shots you have to take."

McLaughlin had hoped to be able to rest the senior guard, but just five minutes into the game, with the Crimson having trouble with the Wildcats' (what else?) 2-3 zone, he sent Mannix in to put some muchneeded outside pressure on the New Hampshire defense.

What McLaughlin had hoped would be just a short stint for the still-injured veteran turned into a 35-minute labor. "I didn't think I would play," Mannix said, adding, "I played more on psyche tonight than anything else."

Mannix hustling defense helped to slow down the onslaught of Wildcat guards R. Dixon and Al McLain--23 and 20 points, respectively--especially down the stretch, and his omnipresent outside shot opened up the lane for the Crimson's inside game although he hit a poor 4-for-11 for the night. In addition to his ten points, he dished out a game-high seven assists.

Mannix's return obscured several other impressive performances. Standout swingman Fleming returned to form after being shut down against Holy Cross on Thursday, hitting a superlative 11-for-14 for 22 points. Fleming penetrated the UNH zone easily and split the twines from both the inside and outside.

Yardling center-forward Carrabino continued his easy adjustment to a starting role, leading all comers with eight rebounds and adding 17 points (eight-for-nineteen--including 12 in the first half).

Overall, the Crimson maintained a slight 31-26 lead on the boards, a statistic which indicates at least a partial recovery from the generally dismal rebounding performances of the last few games. Besides Carrabino, co-captain Mark Harris also turned in a key performance underneath, crashing the hoop to come up with six rebounds. Harris scored 11 points--the fourth Crimson player to hit double figures.

A readjustment of the Crimson's zone offense allowed sophomore guard Calvin Dixon relatively free reign over the offensive lane, and he responded by directing the Crimson attack in its most impressive campaign since the win over UMass. Dixon chalked up nine points and five assists in 40 minutes of play.

There were mistakes--including one first-half stretch where six straight Harvard possessions ended in turnovers--but the offense finally regained some of the spark which it had lacked during the squad's three game losing streak.

Lapses

Defensive lapses characterized much of the first half, which ended with the Crimson up by two, 42-40. McLaughlin started out the game with the Crimson in a shifting 2-3 zone, with Harris and Fleming occasionally moving up top to harrass the Wildcat backcourt tandem.

But the UNH pair just continued firing and connecting--R. Dixon ended up the night shooting 11 for 15 and 23 points--and the squad switched into a man-to-man. Under either system, though, a lack of boxing out underneath continually allowed UNH to pick up buckets off the offensive boards.

The win gives the Crimson a 4-3 overall record, and allows the squad to travel to Austin, Texas with a confident attitude. The team's next home game is the Ivy opener against Brown, January 6.