Dartmouth Finishes Off Hoopsters, 83-77

HANOVER, N.H.--Remember when, in seventh grade, you were first taught how to write a compositional essay? The conclusion, we all were told, should sum up the major points of the paper while adding some new touches.

The Harvard men's basketball team took that lesson to heart last night here at Dartmouth's Alumni Gym, reliving its season in 40 minutes en route to an 83-77 loss at the hands of the Big Green.

Harvard finished the 1986-'87 campaign at 9-17 overall and 4-10 in the Ivy League, tied for last with Brown. Dartmouth moved to 15-11 (7-7 Ivy).

The hosts were led by the incomparable Bryan Randall, who posted a triple-double with 18 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds. Guard Len Bazelak paced the Green with 24 points.

Harvard, meanwhile, was led by its two departing seniors. Guard Keith Webster topped the Crimson with 21 points, while forward Arne Duncan added 13. Bill Mohler and Mike Gielen also chipped in with 13 for Harvard.

As has been the near-unbreakable rule this year, the Crimson fell behind early. After erasing an 8-2 Green edge with a seven-point spurt, Harvard could only watch as Dartmouth scored 13 straight points to take a 21-9 lead. The margin at halftime was 14 points.

"There are no secrets about us," said Harvard Coach Peter Roby after his team fell behind early for yet another time. "We didn't shoot the ball well in the first half, and we turned the ball over 11 times."

The Crimson shot a paltry 29.4 percent from the field in the opening frame, nearly identical to the 29.6 first-half mark Harvard managed against Dartmouth the last time the two teams met.

But, as any veteran Harvard watcher knew, there had to be a comeback. Sophomore guard Gielen led it with a red-hot streak at the start of the second half, knocking home four swishes to help cut the Dartmouth lead to six.

Gielen soon picked up his fourth personal foul and took a respite on the bench, but his teammates carried on his work in his absence, drawing within a single point, 52-51, when Webster nailed a three-pointer with 14 minutes remaining in the game.

Harvard never managed to wrest the lead away, however, and Dartmouth stiffened after Webster's bomb. The Crimson got within four points a number of times down the stretch but could never get any closer to the Randall-led Green.

The 6-ft., 1-in. guard electrified the crowd late in the first half when he slapped the ball away from a Harvard player, streaked down court, and rose for a somewhat thunderous slam. The apocryphal crowd of 1987 (this was the final game ever played at Alumni) roared its approval.

"If he's not the best player in the league then he's the second best," Roby said, adding that he thought either Randall or Penn's Perry Bromwell would capture Ivy player of the year honors.

Somewhat forgotten in the flurry of Harvard's repeated late comeback tries were the career personal achievements of the Crimson's graduating co-captains.

Duncan came into the contest with 999 career points, but waited more than 17 minutes before breaking into four figures with a three-point rocket from the left side of the key.

"He sure waited long enough," Roby joked later. "He had us scared over there."

Webster, meanwhile, moved into seventh place on Harvard's all-time scoring list with his 21-point effort. The Monroe, Conn., native closed out his Crimson career with 1093 points.

"I'm happy for Web and Arne that they will go into the record books," Roby said. "I know that individual achievements don't mean much to them, but at least when people look back at Harvard basketball they will see that these two were among the greats."

Webster and Duncan, at least, are now free to move from a monotonous English lesson into history.

THE NOTEBOOK: Harvard was forced to wear its JV uniforms after a number of the varsity road outfits were stolen following last weekend's game at Cornell. Duncan was forced from his usual 42 into number 40...The Crimson rebounded to shoot 54.3 percent from the floor in the second half but still finished at 42 percent for the game...Kyle Dodson played only nine minutes in the game and sat out the entire second half with a bad knee bruise.

Big Green, 83-77 at Alumni Gym

HARVARD (77): Brian Mackey 1-0--2; Mike Gielen 6-1--13; David Lang 1-0--2; Kevin Collins 1-0--2; Keith Webster 8-2--21; Kyle Dodson 1-2--4; Tedd Evers 0-0--0; Fred Schernecker 3-1--7; Bill Mohler 3-6--13; Arne Duncan 5-2--13. Totals 29-13--77.

DARTMOUTH (83): Derek Bunting 0-0--0; Bryan Randall 7-3--18; Robbie Summers 1-0--2; Len Bazelak 10-1--24; Jim Barton 4-7--16; John Bean 3-0--6; Kwaku Miller 3-3--9; Jason Lobo 2-2--6; Eugene Sims 0-0--0; Darin Maccoux 0-2--2. Totals 30-27--83.

Three-pointers: Gielen, Webster 2, Schernecker, Duncan, Randall, Bazelak 3, Barton. Fouled Out: Gielen. Total fouls: Harvard 25, Dartmouth 20. Rebounds: Harvard 39 (Mohler, Duncan 9), Dartmouth 42 (Randall 10). Assists: Harvard 11 (Gielen, Webster 4), Dartmouth 20 (Randall 11).

A: 1987 Harvard  32-45--77 Dartmouth  46-37--83