Unbeaten Crimson Squads Stumble...

Joe and the Four Guards, the hottest group in town for more than two months, hit rock bottom Saturday afternoon in a Briggs Athletic Center appearance that featured the release of their newest hit, "Are We For Real?"

The group--also known in these parts as the Harvard men's basketball team--dropped a 62-60 heartbreaker to a Dartmouth squad that is arguably one of the worst in the East.

The shocking, last-second loss before '675 fans brought to an end the finest two months in Harvard hoop history, which included the Crimson's best start ever (8.0) and the nation's fourth longest active winning streak.

At the same time, it raised serious questions about the Cambridge quintet that had risen to the top of the local charts.

"After this, a lot of people might wonder whether or not we're for real," Crimson center and Co-Captain Joe Carrabino said of himself and the Four Guards--Pat Smith, Keith Webster, Arne Duncan and Bob Ferry--who, except for a brief departure by Smith, went the distance against the Big Green.

"We'll have to regroup and see what happens," said Harvard Coach Frank McLaughlin, whose squad dropped to 1.1 in Ivy play. "It hurts us."

That's because the stunned Crimson club must now travel next weekend to Princeton and Penn for its toughest trip of the year, and must do it sons the momentum it had expected.

Those plans changed in a hurry Saturday when neither Joe nor the Four Guards could find their touch against a Dartmouth club Harvard manhandled, 73-58, earlier this year in Hanover, N.H.

And when Big Green freshman Bryan Randall, starting his first game as a collegian, banked an eight-footer with just six seconds to go, it broke a 60-60 tie and gave the visitors their first win after eight straight losses and one of the biggest upsets in recent Ivy history.

But that didn't come until after Harvard took almost five minutes in an attempt to use the final five seconds to set up a game-tying shot at the buzzer.

After a Crimson timeout with five seconds to go, Carrabino found Webster on an inbounds pass to midcourt. Webster called an immediate timeout, and there were still four seconds to play.

Another inbounds pass, this time to Ferry in the Harvard half of the court, moved the Crimson closer. Three seconds. Harvard timeout. Dartmouth timeout. Final play.

"We had a double screen set up to Ferry." McLaughlin said, "with an option to Carrabino."

But Duncan, who the Dartmouth players admitted afterwards was the one tabbed "Least Likely to Get the Ball," received the final inbounds pass when the visitors converged on the Crimson's two primary receivers.

Occupational Hazards

The Crimson junior made a quick move towards the basket, but collided with Big Green guard Ron Jones. The two fell to the floor, the ball rolled away, the buzzer sounded and Harvard cried foul.

"Something should have been called at the end," McLaughlin said. "You don't have two guys fall to the ground and not have anything called. But I'm not using that as an excuse. We just didn't play well. It never should have come to that."

But it did, and that's why they're playing a new song these days in Briggs.

THE NOTEBOOK: Harvard led, 28-24, at halftime.

at Briggs Athletic Center

DARTMOUTH (62)--Ron Jones 4.2-10; John Rhine 1.0-2; Scott Schroeder 5.0-10; Bryan Randall 8.3-19; John Mackay 5.1-11; Tim Hassett 0.0--0; Shaun Tobin 2.0-4; Derek Sells 1.0-2; Joe Kilroy 2.0-4; Totals 28.6--62.

HARVARD (60)--Joe Carrabino 8.3-19; Arne Duncan 6.1-13; Bob Ferry 5.7--17; Keith Webster 3.5--11; Pat Smith 0.0-0; Bob Daugherty 0.0--0; Totals 22.16-60.

Halftime: H, 28-24.

Att: 675.