Hoopsters Split Over Break

Harvard basketball coach Frank McLaughlin didn't like what he saw in the Crimson's narrow 80-71 win over Brandeis at the IAB Friday night. "If we'd played anyone else we would have lost," he said, "and if we play against Stanford like we did tonight, we'll lose by 40 or 45 points."

McLaughlin wasn't far wrong in his dire prediction, with the Crimson making the long trip out to California look like a 6000-mile suicide drill, falling to Stanford, 93-70, before a crowd of 3000 at the Cardinals' Maples Pavilion.

A 23-point margin is not indicative of a close contest, and last night's game was not even as close as the final tally indicates. With the score knotted at 24 with 5:14 to go in the first half, Stanford reeled off 13 straight points and outscored the Crimson. 20-1, for the rest of the half, taking a 44-25 lead into the locker room.

A pair of Stanford guards led the late first-half surge. Starter Roger Lemons and Keith Jones--in off the bench--each popped in 12 first-stanza points, with Lemons hitting six-of-nine and Jones five-of-seven shots from the floor.

In the meantime, Harvard could do nothing right, shooting 42 per cent from the floor in the first half and 45 per cent for the game, while the sharp-shooting Cardinals hit the open shots when it counted, going 35-for-72 (49 per cent) from the floor for the game.

Particularly telling are the foul-shooting statistics. The Crimson--ordinarily a sizzling squad from the line--could manage only a dismal 12-23--three of eight in the first half--while Stanford swished 23-of-28 foul shots.

Sophomore forward Joe Carrabino led all scorers with 24 points, while Lemons and Jones finished with 21 and 19, respectively. Stanford out-rebounded the Crimson, 45-37.

Friday's Action

Against Brandeis, Harvard didn't look much like a team some are calling the class of the Ivies, having to overcome a sevenpoint halftime deficit to edge the Judges.

Trailing by three, 56-53, as late as midway through the second half, the Crimson managed to find the intensity necessary to spiff up a largely lackluster performance and chalk up its first win of the year.

The Judges, sporting the same big guns--primarily hot shooters Stephen Wood and Kevin McCann--as a squad which the Crimson decimated, 94-71, in last year's opener, controlled the game until the Crimson's superior size and depth made up for evident Harvard ennui.

If the Crimson attack as a whole was generally unimpressive, several individuals showed real promise for the rest of the year. First among those was point guard Calvin Dixon. Fulfilling McLaughlin's pre-season promise of a more aggressive, to-the-hoop style, the honorable mention All-Ivy selection played what may have been his best 40 minutes in a Crimson uniform, chalking up 16 points and nine assists while running an occasionally explosive Harvard offense.

Sophomore forward Monroe Trout benefitted most directly from Dixon's penetration, laying in eight-of-11 shots to lead all Crimson scorers with 17. Trout played the most productive game of his career in the rebound department as well, completely dominating the boards--at both ends of the court--with 14, while playing just 29 minutes.

The Crimson must shake jet-lag by Wednesday night in time to host Dartmouth in the Ivy League opener for both teams. The game starts at 8 p.m. in the IAB. All-Ivy forward Larry Lawrence has graduated and high-tailed it out of Handover, so the Crimson should win this one. Be there sports.