Crimson Cagers Whip Indians, 87-83; Silver, Banks Propel Harvard Offense

The pendulum is once again swinging in the right direction for the Crimson cagers. Last night they traveled to Hanover and emerged with their third straight, and seventh Ivy triumph, an 89-83 victory over Dartmouth.

Harvard was in complete control of the game, and only another awful performance at the free throw line (.500 shooting percentage) and liberal substitution by Coach Tom Sanders in the second half made the final score deceptively close.

One glance at the final statistics will go a long way in explaining the Crimson's easy win for Harvard employed its victory formula. This strategy basically amounts to having Lou Silver and Brian Banks lead the Crimson offensive attach.

When the two big men perform this task, Mike Griffin, Arnie Needleman, and Bill Carey are free to concentrate on taking the good shots, instead of forcing low percentage attempts in order to compensate for the lack of scoring punch from Silver and Banks.

Last night, however, there was no lack of offense. Silver's statistics read straight from an NBA box score--24 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. Banks contributed 20 points, 12 rebounds, and continued his defensive mastery by blocking two Indian shots.

Silver and Banks also complemented each other beautifully; 18 of the letter's earner high of 20 points came in the first half, when Harvard amassed a 42-39 lead (after squandering a 30-21 advantage).

After intermission, the Crimson immediately rebuilt the lead, mostly as a result of an 18-point contribution, this time from Silver. The Harvard advantage was never in jeopardy, and only a Dartmouth spurt in the closing seconds made the final margin so close.

Larry Cubes and Bill Healey led the Indians' scoring with 31 and 20 points, respectively.

With Silver and Banks handling the bulk of the scoring. Mike Griffin could concern himself with setting up the offense and feeding the open man. As a result, he had just six points, but contributed five assists to the Crimson cause, a department where Griffia is one of the Ivy leaders.

Het Needle

Bill Carey wasn't forced to take as many shots as he has had to recently, but when he did shoot, he usually connected (five for eight), and accounted for ten points. Arnie Needleman was even hotter than Carey, hitting four of six shots, most of them in the early going, and ending with 13 points.

With a three-game winning streak, the cagers now await the arrivals of Columbia and Cornell this weekend to close out their season.