Cagers Quake Under Penn Attack, 67-63

PHILADELPHIA, PA.--The brooms were out for the Harvard men's basketball team with 7:23 remaining in Saturday's game against Penn here in the Palestra.

Hassan Duncombe, the Quakers' center and only legitimate inside player, had fouled out and Ralph James' three-point play had given the Crimson a 57-56 lead.

Harvard was on its way to a clean sweep of the "Lost Weekend" over Princeton and Penn, but the Crimson dropped its shooting touch when it picked up the brooms.

Harvard Coach Peter Roby saw his team outscored by Penn's Walt Frazier, Jr., 9-6, over the remainder of the game and drop a 67-63 decision to the Quakers.

The Crimson shot 2-for-8 from the field and a pathetic 2-for-6 from the line during Penn's winning run.

"In the first half our shots were easier because we were throwing the ball inside so much," Harvard Co-Captain Mike Gielen said. "In the second half, we really didn't go inside enough and, consequently, our shots were harder."

The loss dropped Harvard (7-10 overall, 3-3 Ivy) into fifth place in the Ivy League and left the Quakers (8-8, 4-0) holding onto the top spot.

"We think we're just as good as anybody in the league," Roby said. "What we're going to try and do is go 11-3 and make someone else win with a better record. Anybody that thinks the league has been won in this game tonight is in big trouble."

Frazier finished the game with 27 points on 10-for-22 shooting and seven rebounds. The 6-ft., 2-in. guard showcased his First Team All-Ivy talents in the crucial period after Duncombe had fouled out.

Frazier made a driving layup to put the Quakers up by one point with six minutes remaining. Mike Gielen's leaning jumper with four-and-one-half minutes left in the game put Harvard back in front, but 60 seconds later Frazier made a fast-break layup off a Tyrone Gilliams assist to put the Quakers ahead for good, 63-62.

A 15-ft. turnaround jumper by Frazier increased the margin to three and his two free throws in the last ten seconds clinched the win.

"We had many opportunites to win--open shots, big rebounds and big foul shots--and we just didn't capitalize," Phillips said. "You realize coming in here that it's a tough place to play and we think we've played good basketball here the last two years."

Duncombe pumped in 16 points, including 14 in the first half to spark a 36-28 halftime lead for the Quakers. Little-known freshman Paul Chambers dished out six assists and did an effective job bringing the ball up against Harvard's press, freeing Frazier to concentrate on scoring.

"Their pressure was wearing us down," Frazier said, "and we couldn't do a great job because we were tired."

Enter Chambers, a walk-on from the football team, who thrilled the crowd with his exciting hustle and aggressive ball-handling. His biggest play came with 58 seconds left in the game, when he stripped the ball from Harvard's Ron Mitchell in the lane to preserve a two-point lead.

The Quakers outrebounded the taller Crimson, 45-30, and grabbed 15 offensive boards. Penn's two starting guards, Frazier and Gilliams, pulled down 17 rebounds between them.

"We did a pretty good job on the boards down the stretch and didn't allow any second shots," Penn Coach Tom Schneider said.

Harvard's press was effective for most of the game, but dry shooting spells at the end of each half kept the Crimson out of the press in crucial points of the contest.

"As long as we press them, we play our style of basketball," Phillips said. "Penn did a good job bringing the ball up the court, but we got some big plays and we played well in the press. We didn't lose because of that."

THE NOTEBOOK: Gielen finished with 23 points, raising his career total to 988... Center Fred Schernecker, also playing the best basketball of his career, played 30 minutes and tallied a career-high 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting.

Ivy League Men's Basketball Standings Penn  4-0 Princston  3-1 Dartmouth  4-2 Yale  4-2 Harvard  3-3 Columbia  2-4 Cornell  5-1 Brown  1-5