Cagers Tumble in Double OT

BRONX, N.Y.--Ouch.

Nearly two and a half hours after Harvard coach Frank McLaughlin received Fordham's distinguished alumni award, his squad lost an agonizing double-overtime contest to the Rams, 81-78, here in Rose Hill Gymnasium.

He probably would have traded the plaque for four points.

It was one of those games that might have turned a season around with a dramatic win in hostile territory. Instead, it was a glum conclusion to the first road trip of the year. Harvard's record falls to 1-3; Fordham tallies its first win after two losses.

Unlike the disaster against Wagner Friday night, the Fordham game had its bright spots. The brightest was the performance of 6-ft. 9-in. freshman forward Lamar Flatt, who scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.

Sad to say, Flatt muffed a chance to win the game in the final moments of the second overtime. With 36 seconds remaining and Harvard down, 79-78, guard Calvin Dixon penetrated to the middle of the lane and dumped a beautiful pass to Flatt under the basket--maybe being fouled in the process. Flatt went up with it--and he might have been half-fouled, too. Fordham collected the rebound.

The Crimson had to commit an intentional foul, but Ram Tony Foust hit two clutch free throws with seven seconds left to seal the victory.

In the first overtime, the Crimson came from four points back to force the final session. Bob Allen hit a ten-footer with 2:53 left, and Tom Mannix, his shooting touch returned after a one-night sabbatical at Wagner, nailed a pretty 20-ft. jump shot with just over two minutes left, knotting the game at 72.

Were it not for the foul line--where both teams had repeated chances to win the game--play might not have advanced into overtime at all. With Harvard ahead by two after Don Fleming's strong drive with 1:59 left in regulation, Flatt was on the line for a one-and-one that would have put Harvard up by three or four with 29 seconds to go.

Flatt's first shot hit the front of the rim, seemed to hang there for a second, and fell away. Fordham took the rebound and moved the ball quickly upcourt, where Bill Calhoun tied it at 68 and forced the first extra period on a layup with six seconds to go. Harvard called time out but couldn't get off a shot in five seconds.

But if Flatt's miss hurt Harvard, the Rams' freethrows were tantamount to suicide. Fordham went 15 for 30, and in the waning moments folded completely at the charity stripe.

Fleming came up with another excellent performance, scoring a game-high 29 points, despite riding the bench with four fouls for much of the late going and all of the first O.T. Almost unobtrusively, just when Harvard needed a basket, Fleming came up with a hoop. Nine out of ten fron, the foul line didn't hurt, either.

And Mannix returned to his Texas game shooting form, hitting assorted bombs from the perimeter for a season-high 16 points. His finest moment, however, came with 3:25 left in the second overtime, when he drove the right baseline and sunk a left-handed five-footer to keep the Crimson within one.

THE NOTEBOOK: Ugliest creature on the trip award goes to the Fordham Ram, in and out of costume... Wagner has won 19 in a row at home... Fordham lost to Yale in double overtime in New Haven last week... Sore legs award goes to Tom Mannix, who played 45 minutes against Fordham... Mario Andretti Memorial Award goes to trainer Pete Provinzano for driving excellence.