Varsity Hoopsters Down Dartmouth Squad, 85-76

Continuing its late season bid for a first division slot in the Ivy League, the Crimson basketball team stormed past Dartmouth last night, winning 85-76.

Accurate shooting and the Crimson's revised offensive strategy were crucial factors in the win. The varsity split the nets at a 55 per cent clip, while their opponents could only manage 45 per cent. Throughout the game Harvard's break away tactics kept Dartmouth on edge, destroyed the Green's offensive.

The two teams played evenly for most of the first half. Pete Kelley and Gary Borchard contributed the majority of the Crimson's early points with outside jump shots. Meanwhile, Harvard's shifting 2-1-2 zone effectively contained Dartmouth ace George Ramming. Ramming waited nearly seven minutes before breaking into the scoring column with a turn-around jump.

With five minutes left to go in the half, Kelley put on a dazzling display of shooting from the left corner, his favorite hunting grounds. His efforts sparked the Crimson to a ten point margin at half-time.

After the intermission, Bill Danner and Borchard moved the score to 44 to 32 before a revived Dartmouth quintet swung into action.

Capitalizing on sloppy Crimson ball handling, Ramming and company quickly narrowed the score. The Dartmouth star, who yesterday was voted Ivy player of the Week, slipped in behind the suddenly leaky Harvard zone and proved to be an easy target for Dan Berry's expert passes. With little more than six minutes gone, the visitors had climbed to within one point of the Crimson.

Kelley and Borchard responded to the challenge, and managed to keep the Crimson just ahead of Dartmouth. Kelley, however, soon began to cool, while Big Green guard Steve Spahn scored on several long set shots from in front of the keyhole.

After being fouled by Joe Deering with 6:14 remaining in the game, Ramming gave Dartmouth its first lead of the half, 66-65. Despite Spahn's increasing accuracy however, Dartmouth failed to hold the advantage.

Captain Bob Bowditch took command of the faltering Crimson attack, and along with Deering and Borchard, maneuvered a series of brilliant full court dashes.

Crimson scoring honors went to Kelley with 26. Borchard had 24 and Deering followed with 18. Ramming's 32 tallies provided the only cheer for the visitors in what otherwise was a highly frustrating evening for the Big Green.