Harvard Cagers Lose, 92-90

Granted, Rome, Boston Garden and other empires were not built in one day. But the average Harvard basketball-goer cannot be blamed for getting impatient or superstitious (or both) with the way things are going for Tom Sanders and his Crimson.

Harvard's "heartbreakers" dropped another squeaker last night, 92-90, to Boston University in the semifinals of the Beanpot Tournament at the IAB. Freshmen forward Bruce Engle and sophomore guard Steve Jones did the trick for the Terriers, each sinking two fatal baskets in the final two minutes, breaking an 82-82 deadlock.

A Squeaker Clinched

Harvard's Lou Silver and Ken Wolfe also hit for four points in the late going, but B.U.'s Steve Dabney slipped behind the Harvard mid-court press for a lay-up with 24 seconds left to clinch the squeaker for the Terriers.

Defense, free throws and rebounds in the second half marred an impressive offensive performance for the Crimson, who shot 58.6 per cent for the game.

Tempo Riddled

Coach Ron Mitchell's Terriers came back from a halftime, 42-41, deficit with a full-court zone press and blistering fast break whose tempo riddled Harvard's usual defensive composure.

"Our guys found that zone press irresistible when they had an open shot on the break and kept on running, which definitely is not our game," Sanders said afterward.

The difference on the scoreboard was free throws, as Harvard had one more shot from the field than the Terriers, and a roughly equal shooting percentage. The Crimson shot 8 for 16 from the foul strip, missing time and again on crucial one-and-one situations.

B.U. outrebounded Sanders's squad, 32-27, as Harvard big men sat out much of the second half. Silver drew an early third foul, and Sanders benched captain Tony Jenkins for his paltry defensive work on New England scoring leader Kenny Boyd, who finished with 24 points.

A Cold Half

Jenkins hit for Harvard's first 11 points, as the Crimson streaked to a 19-13 lead in the opening six minutes of the game. The 6 ft. 8 in. forward went cold in the second half, however.

"Most people don't understand, but when you have two men (Jenkins and Boyd) scoring a lot of points like that, you and I both know that someone's not playing any defense," Sanders explained.

The loss, Harvard's sixth straight, brings its "Heartbreaker Count" to a total of seven losses by 13 pts. or less.