Harvard Five Gains First Victory Against Navy in 12 Starts, 92-73

Harvard's sophomore forward Brian Newmark pulled down five rebounds and scored two three-point plays late in the second half yesterday afternoon in the IAB to stave off Navy's comeback attempt and secure a Crimson basketball victory, 92-73.

The win, Harvard's fifth against seven losses, marked the first time that the Crimson has defeated the Midshipmen in 12 starts. The 19-point margin of victory was the widest scored against Navy this season.

Behind by as much as 60-34 early in the second half, Navy took advantage of weak rebounding and a cold shooting spell by Harvard to pull within nine points midway through the half.

Then Newmark, who finished with 25 tallies to pace all scorers, gathered in one of his game-leading 12 rebounds. Guard, Dale Dover scored on a driving lay-up, and Newmark was fouled on a baseline drive after he made the basket. He sunk the free throw and the Crimson went ahead, 78-64.

Sophomore guard Matt Bozek scored 12 out of 12 from the free-throw line and finished with 20 points. Captain Ernie Hardy, who hit several lay-ins on long, floating passes toward the basket from his teammates, had 16. Dover tallied 15.

Harvard jumped to a 14-5 advantage and steadily widened the margin with aggressive board play and consistent shooting. Scoring on 57 per cent of its shots in the first half, the Crimson was ahead 54-34 at half-time.

Quick Lead

"We knew that we had to get a quick lead," said Harvard coach Bob Harrison, "by trying to force turnovers and 'running' them-which we did. Our full-court press and our man-to-man defense with zone principles may have confused them."

In the second half, Navy opened up offensively. Guard Jack Conrad, who finished with 24 points, led the way as Harvard, physically exhausted by its holiday road trip, let up and consequently had trouble scoring with its pattern offense.

The Midshipmen took advantage of the situation, outscoring the Crimson 14-2 during one stretch in the seecond half and 39-38 for the half. Harvard, which outrebounded fourth-ranked North Carolina by 15 even though it didn't win, lost control of the boards in the second half to the shorter Midshipmen.

Disappointment

Harrison said that he was disappointed his team could only tie Navy in the rebounding totals. "I wanted to beat this team convincingly in order to wake up a few people around here who think that the teams we played over vacation let up on us," he said.

The Crimson will have a chance to record convincing victories this weekend when it travels to Penn and Princeton.

To defeat the Red and Blue, ranked 18th in the nation by one poll, Harvard will need stronger rebounding than it displayed against Navy in the second half yesterday.