Cagers Brace for Weekend Invasion

The long awaited must weekend for Harvard's basketball begins tonight at 8 p.m. in the IAB when Princeton tries to snap a three-game being streak and gain a jump on the Ivy League race at the expense of the Crimson. Penn follows the Tiger invasion off Saturday in the IAB.

Harvard's opponents in these crucial games present an interesting contrast in playing styles for coach Bob Harrison and his squad. Princeton which holds 4-5 records after losing consecutive road games to Marshall, New Mexico, State, and Southern California, is basically a ball control unit. The Bengals other two losses, to Penn State and Villanova were both away.

The Tigers consistently look for and run back door patterns, always aiming for the high percentage shot Captain Ted Manakas is the ball handling quarterback of coach Pete Carril`s squad and is averaging 19.3 points for the season.

Senior Bill Kapler and sophomore Brien O'Neill have both helped Manakas pace leading the team in rebounds while O'Neill's ball-hawking defense and 9.0 points per game average have proven to be a pleasant surprise for Carrel.

Penn, on the other hand, likes to run and relies heavily on pick and roll patterns when the offense sets up. The Quakers, who are 5-2 for the year after back-to-back losses to Cineinnati and the University of San Francisco, are led by co-captains, Phil Hankinson and Craig Littlepage. Ranked 20th in the country by the UPI, Penn has not lost to the Crimson in the two team's last nine meetings.

Harvard will go into both games with the availability of two key players listed as questionable. Senior center Floyd Lewis, who dislocated a finger against Holy Cross before vacation, and senior guard Hal Smith, who sustained an ankle injury Wednesday in practice may both miss action.

"However even without Floyd and Hal, we have the personnel capable of taking both games," assistant coach Ernest Hardy said yesterday.