Tigers, Quakers Trounce Fumbling Crimson Quintet

The Harvard basketball team may have set an embarassing record over the weekend. While dropping Ivy League decisions to Pennsylvania and Princeton, the punchless Crimson gave up the ball without a shot on violations, bad passes, etc.--42 times.

The Penn game Friday was close most of the way; only three points separated the teams at the half. In the end the 13-point margin of the Penn victory, 69-56, was practically identical to the differences in mistakes. Penn lost the ball 11 times, Harvard 23.

Saturday night was a farce; Princeton won 99-71. The Tigers had superior height and ability, but the Crimson's carelessness helped them along.

In the-first ten minutes of the game, Harvard committed eight costly turnovers, giving the Ivy co-favorite Tigers the chance to build up a 28-11 margin.

Princeton got outstanding shooting from its sophomore whiz Geof Petrie. The 6-2 guard flashed several tricky moves as he scored 10 of the first 28 points. Teaming with captain Joe Heiser in the back-court, Petrie showed the same disrespect for Harvard guards Bob Beller and Mickey Norlander that Penn's Tom Northrup and Steve Pearsall displayed Friday night.

Dominating the Quaker offense, Northrup and the 5-8 Pearsall combined for 40 points. With 6-6 Carl Robbins controlling the backboards and scoring 16 points overall, the Quakers blew the game open immediately after intermission.

As has been customary for Harvard this year there was a spark of life late in the game, but, also as usual, it wasn't bright enough. Crowd-pleaser Bobby Johnson led a spirited assault which cut the Quaker advantage to six with six minutes left.

But Northrup banked a tricky left-handed layup, got fouled and converted the free throw, breaking the Crimson back. The Red and Blue is now 5-7, Harvard is 5-6, and Princeton is 11-3, 3-0 in the League.

Although Harvard lost both games badly, showing virtually no teamwork and doing nothing to adjust to changes in the opposition's strategy, there were a couple of individual standouts.

Bob Kanuth especially, turned in steady, unheroic but super competent games. Against Princeton, he thrwe in several arched corner shots, winding up with a team high 17 points and a game high 10 rebounds.

Petrie wound up with '21 points for Princeton. Heiser followed with 18, 6-9 center Chris Thomforde 16, 6-7 John Haarlow 16, and David Lawyer 13. Gallagher totalled 23 points for the two games and Norlander 24.

Harvard plays Dartmouth Tuesday at the IAB.