Varsity Quintet Tops Tufts After Uphill fight, 71 to 65

The varsity basketball team defied its own tradition of blowing big leads last night at the Tufts gym, when it came from behind to beat the Jumbos 71 to 65.

Ahead for the first three periods, the Crimson fell behind in the fourth quarter only to fight from behind in the fourth quarter only to fight from behind in the last four minutes and win. The victory was its second consecutive over local colleges; B.C., a pre-exam victor, was the other one.

Fight and will to win may seem trite intangibles, but they were the main factors behind the Crimson's triumph. The varsity's defense was poor, the shooting was way off, and the offensive rebounding was often absent. Nevertheless, the team won partly by outscoring the Jumbos, 25 to 21, from the foul line, and by managing to score at the crucial times.

Fast Break and Fouls

The game was a continual fast-break, interspersed by frequent fouls. The chief beneficiary, the Jumbo center. John Heneghan, was fouled three straight times as he held the ball in the forecourt. Heneghan scored 26 points, high for the night. Crimson coach Norm Shepard tried four different men guarding him. All four were unable to stop his one-hand shots without fouling.

Harry Sacks again led the Crimson scorers with 20 points, mostly on short pivot shots. Bill Dennis shot nine foul shots to pace the fourth-quarter spurt. Ed Condon, Dick Manning, and Forrest Hansen also contributed several points at critical moments; Condon's set shot pulled the Crimson up to a late 62-all tie and his foul shot put it in front to stay shortly after, with three minutes left in the game.

Dennis marshaled determined "slowmotion" tactics at this point. Two Tufts fouls followed--one an accidental strangle hold on Dennis--and just about sewed up the contest.

In the preliminary game, the Yardlings scored their sixth consecutive win and second over the tufts freshmen, 89 to 53.

John the preliminary game the Yardlings scored their sixth consecutive win and second-quarter comeback, and collected 19 points.