Cards Whip Varsity Five

The varsity basketball team parlayed poor shooting,k sloppy passing, and a porous defense into a 77-71 loss to Wesleyan last night at the IAB. Although the Crimson produced several stretches of good basketball, including a sensational rally early in the second half, the team could not match the Cardinals' consistency.

After 11 minutes in the opening period, Wesleyan held a 20-11 lead. The Cardinals had little difficulty in breaking through the varsity's man-for-man defense, and the Crimson offense was stymied by the Wesleyan zone. Even when the varsity shifted to a zone defense, the Cardinals still scored almost at will, and ran their lead to 27 to 17 before the Crimson put on an aggressive zone press.

With its press working, the varsity battled back, and ran off six straight points. When the Crimson moved into a full court press with 4:30 left in the half, tempers began to flare. Wesleyan wisely stayed calm when it counted, taking advantage of the varsity's over-eagerness to build its margin to 43 to 29 by intermission.

At the beginning of the second half, the Crimson roared back, outscoring the Cardinals 9 to 1 in the first five minutes. Some fine shooting by Ed Cuffe and good defense and rebounding by Bryant Danner led the Crimson surge. The varsity moved to within three points, 52 to 49, with ten minutes remaining, but Wesleyan recovered. A three-point play by Dick Dubanoski gave the Cardinals a 59-52 spread with only eight minutes left, and it was all over for the varsity.

Crimson guard Bob Bowditch was probably the worst offender last night, shooting wildly and telegraphing his passes throughout the game. If there were bright spots for the varsity, they were provided by Cuffe, who scored 22 points on 11 of 22 floor attempts, and Greg Loser, a little guard who tallied four field goals in less than 10 minutes. Center Dave Skinner paced Wesleyan with 24 markers.

The Yardlings continued their fine play, crushing the Cardinal freshmen, 72 to 41. Denny Lynch with 19 points led the list of 11 scorers.

Tonight the varsity faces Williams in an away contest. A quick reversal of form is in order.