Penn Mauls Varsity Five In One-Sided 73-53 Game

PHILADELPHIA--The City of Brotherly Love met a stinging rejection in Washington on this balmy spring-like afternoon, but redeemed itself in the evening as her favorite sons, the Red and Blue of Penn, won their bid to avenge last week-end's shellacking by the Crimson.

The Democrats turned thumbs down on Philly as the site for their 1960 national convention, and Harvard's varsity quintet was feeling no more kindly disposed to the city tonight after sustaining a horrendous defeat before a small gathering at the Palestra. The tally was 73 to 53, an indication of the extremity of the drubbing.

The Crimson led at only one point in the game--and that in the opening moment. This was not the same team that returned after a poor first half last Saturday night to overcome the Quakers. The varsity was shoddy on defense, and impotent on offense. And the return to form of ailing Penn ace Bob Mlkvy did not substantially aid the Crimson's cause.

One-Man Demolition Gang

Mlkvy's 17 points gave the hosts a 34-24 halftime lead that it never relinquished. The Penn star hobbled through the first half and part of the second on a painful bandaged right leg before retiring for the evening, but the damage had been done. With 24 points and 23 rebounds, he had proved himself a oneman demolition gang.

But Mlkvy's brilliant performance was only half of the story; the consistently terrible play of the Crimson was the other. Forced into taking poor shots--usually from beyond the 20-foot mark, the varsity was able to convert only 19 of 80 field goal attempts for an unhappy 23 per cent.

The Crimson was stymied by Penn's man-to-man defense and rarely pierced the keyhole for driving lay-ups and jump shots. And unfortunately only George Harrington was able to hit with any degree of consistency from the outside; although outstanding under the boards, Bob Bowditch was limited to one goal in 10 attempts.