Hoopsters Top Manhattan As Trout Dominates Inside

Center Monroe Trout tallied 29 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Harvard men's basketball team to a 79-73 upset of Manhattan College last night before an estimated crowd of 600 at Briggs Athletic Center.

The Crimson handed Manhattan only its second defeat in 10 outings this year. One of its victories was a one-point decision over perennial Ivy champion Pennsylvania. The upset victory raises Harvard's record to 4-5 (0-1 in Ivy play).

"I don't think they thought we'd win." Crimson Coach Frank McLaughlin said after the game. "They have a chance of being a tournament team."

The Jaspers didn't play like one last night, though.

For the first 30 minutes, the only thing the Jaspers did adequately was foul, hacking their way to an 11-point deficit. Manhattan committed the first five fouls of each half as it amassed 30 penalties on the game to Harvard's 12.

The Crimson led throughout taking advantage of the Jaspers' show start to jump out to a 20-6 lead. One of the few teams on the Crimson schedule with less speed than the Crimson. Manhattan just couldn't keep up. The Cagers easily out positioned their opponents, and the Jaspers got caught playing defense with their hands instead of their feet.

Harvard used its superior speed to gather back-door buckets and driving lay-ins, while Trout took command under the basket. The 6-ft., 9-in. junior netted Harvard's last seven first-half points, as the Crimson claimed at 33-22 margin at the intermission.

Manhattan threatened to make a game of it in the last 10 minutes. Slowly they chipped away at the Crimson's 11-point margin, pulling it to within four with just 52 seconds remaining. But Trout hit both ends of a one-and-one to keep the Jaspers at buy.

"My girl friend was up there," Trout explained after the game. "I wanted to show off a little."

High Percentage

The Harvard season record-holder in shooting percentage, Trout sunk 11 of his 13 attempts from the field last night en route to his 29 points, the most this year for a Crimson-cagier.

The big man attributed his success to relaxing. "I was with the flow," he said. "You do the best when you're not really trying."

Manhattan's tallest player, forward Bill McLellan, couldn't compete physically with the bigger Tront McLellan gave away an inch in height and 45 pounds to Harvard's center.

Trout's performance may mark his return to full strength after a severe ankle strain he suffered in the preseason. Out for five weeks of practice and missing from the starting lineup in the first few games, the New Canaan, Conn. native said that full recovery is still on the way.

"My ankle's just starting to feel good," he said.

The loss of junior forward Joe Carrabino, the team's leading scorer, to a sciatic nerve injury after the UMass game threw much of the responsibility for Harvard's front line on the broad shoulders of classmate Trout.

THE NOTEBOOK For those of you who are wondering, the Jaspers are named after Brother Jasper. Manhattan College's first basketball coach and the man the Jaspers claim invented baseball's seventh inning stretch. The Crimson hosts Army Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.