Icemen Win in OT, But Tigers Rout Cagers

PRINCETON, N.J.--The Harvard men's basketball team won the battle but lost the war.

Braving the blizzard conditions that blanketed New Jersey last night with over a foot of snow, the cagers made it to Princeton's Jadwin Gymnasium by game time, but could not overcome the natural avalanche of the Tigers' front line, losing, 67-46.

Playing before a sparse--by Princeton standards--crowd of 247, the Crimson jumped out to a 24-19 lead with 7:54 left in the first half. The Tigers, however, roared back with 13 unanswered points and were never caught.

"We played extremely well at the beginning of the game." Coach Frank McLaughlin said, adding, "unfortunately we then began to shoot only average."

Junior Ken Plutnicki led Harvard with 14 points and sophomore Bob Ferry added 10 Senior guard Calvin Dixon led all Crimson rebounders, grabbing six Craig Robinson tallied 17 for Princeton.

The cagers (10.9 overall, 2.5 in Ivy play) did not go to Jadwin with history on their side The Crimson have only won in Princeton. New Jersey seven times in the last eight years, but this year's edition had to contend also with Mother Nature.

Because of the snow the hoopsters' afternoon flight to Philadelphia was rerouted to Newark where a convoy of Princeton athletic officials came in stationwagons to pick them up so they could get to Jadwin for the tip off.

However, McLaughlin refused to blame the weather for the Crimson defeat. "It didn't snow on the court," he said when asked if the white stuff bothered his team's play.

But the game's result was only the beginning of the coach's headaches. Late last night with the team staying at a Princeton motel he was unsure whether the team would be able to get to Philadelphia for an evening matchup against the Penn Quakers.

He said he hoped to get on a bus for the 90-minute drive today at noon, but added that if the snow continued that might be difficult.

McLaughlin said last night that despite the big loss, he was optimistic about the Crimson's chances for revenge "if we correct some things" when the Tigers make their first appearance at Briggs Cage.

McLaughlin said he thought his team played well through the first half but could not continue the pace in the latter stanza when the Tigers pulled away. "You have to understand that Princeton was one of the pre-season favorites in the Ivy League," he added.