Fleming (34) Leads Crimson To 78-75 Thriller Over Yale

NEW HAVEN, Conn.--On February 3, Harvard hosted the Yale basketball team at the IAB, and won handily, racking up 100 points for the first time in more than five years en route to a 107-94 win.

Last night in Yale's Payne-Whitney gymnasium, though, things got a bit sticky toward the end, and the Crimson had to wait till overtime to dump the Elis, 78-75.

The win lifts the Crimson's season record to 16 and nine, nine and four Ivy, while the Elis fall to six and 19 overall, with a 3-10 league mark.

Go Yale

Yale, which finished 16-10 a year ago and returned with a strong core of lettermen and a pair of promising freshmen in the back court, has been the Ivy League's greatest mystery all season.

Donald Fleming led the way for the Crimson, hitting an awesome 13 of 19 from the floor and eight for nine from the foul line for 34 points. Those 34 points count as the season high for the team.

The Crimson took control early, running up a 43-34 halftime lead, but Yale bounced back in the second half to tie the score at 65-all at the end of regulation time. With both squads alternately running the ball and seeking to slow down the speed of the game, the Elis gradually pulled to within two, 54-52, with about 11 minutes left.

Crimson forward Monroe Trout then turned the ball over with an offensive foul and the Elis' Doug Stratton--a 3.4 points-per-game shooter who led all Yale scorers last night with 20 points--hit an 18-footer to tie it up at the 9:45 mark at 54-54.

At that point, Crimson all-Ivy forward Fleming--playing before his mother and assorted relatives--caught fire, hitting ten of Harvard's next 11 points to give the Crimson an apparently commanding 65-60 advantage with about two minutes left.

Jump

Yale captain Regis O'Keefe then popped home a pair of jumpers, which were sandwiched around a Yale steal, to pull the Bulldogs to within one at 65-64 with 1:15 left.

Crimson co-captain Tom Mannix then dribbled the ball past the half-court line, hotly pursued by O'Keefe. The cat-and-mouse game went on a little too long for referee Tom Casey, who called a jump ball even though Mannix seemed to be in full control of the dribble.

The Bulldogs controlled the tip, and then controlled the rebound after O'Keefe missed a medium-range jumper. With just nine seconds left in the game, Mark Harris allegedly fouled Yale forward Tim Daaleman, sending the Eli to the line with a one-and-one opportunity and sending himself to the bench with five personals.

Front End

After a Crimson time-out, Daaleman converted the front end of a one-and-one foul situation, but after another Harvard time-out, missed the second. Eli Steve Leondis shot way up for the rebound, but took one too many steps as he hit the floor, giving Harvard the ball with five seconds left in regulation play and the score tied 65-65.

The Crimson pulled up its collective shorts, however, and easily outscored Yale, 13-10, five minutes into overtime period.

THE NOTEBOOK: Yesterday was a sad day for broadcasting, for not only did Walter Cronkite hang up the mike, but Ed Murphy and Jay Weinstein ended their careers as the voices of Harvard basketball. WHRB will not broadcast tonight's game at Brown because of a scheduling conflict with the hockey team.