Dartmouth, 62-52 at Hanover, N. H.

Dartmouth (62)--Paul anderson 9-7-25; Brian Burke 5-3-13; Scott Schroeder 1-4-6; Rick Lewis 1-0-2; Tim Hassett 3-0-6; Joe Kilroy 2-2-6; Deverk Sells 0-4-4; Totals 21-20-62.

HARVARD (52)--Joe Carrabino 7-6-20. Greg Wildes 2-0-4; Ame Duncan 5-2-12, Ken Pluntnicki 1-0-2; Keith Webster 1-0-2; Bob Ferry 6-0-12, Totals 22-6-52.

Hathime: D, 23-16.

HANOVER, N. H.--Maybe it's the unfamiliar surroundings. Maybe it's the hostile fans. Come to think of it, maybe the seats on the bus are too close together, and the players' legs get cramped. It could even be the bag lunches traveling teams take on the road.

Whatever the reason, it's become mighty apparent that the Harvard men's basketball team is unable to win away from the cozy confines of Briggs Cage.

Considering that the Crimson has lost 14 straight away games, it didn't come as much of surprise when on Friday night in Hanover, the Cagers dropped number 15 in a row, this time bowing to Dartmouth, 65-52.

The crucial Ivy loss dropped Harvard's season to 5-7, 2-2 in the Ivies.

"We played terribly. It's the worst loss of the year, and I think we know that," Harvard Coach Frank McLaughlin said after his road show folded its tent just one more time. "It's the worst 40 minutes that I can remember."

Expect for a fleeting 2-0 lead at the start of the contest, the Crimson never seemed in control of its own game, and never did it pose a serious threat to the Big Green. Dartmouth quickly banged out eight consecutive points after the initial field goal, and perhaps the most surprising thing of it all was that the Crimson lost by only 10 points.

Frantic First Half

The first half was particularly distressing for the visitors, as the action on the floor could be described as nothing but frantic. Players would--oops!--pass the ball to where no one stood, or--even worse--into a congested lane filled only with guys in green. Missed lay-ups, over-the-back, and traveling violations plagued Harvard throughout the first 20 minutes.

And when the Crimson did get a chance to put the ball up in the first half, it usually didn't help a great deal--thanks to a pretty awful 24 percent shooting average. In fact, during one stretch, Harvard failed to convert a field goal for close to eight minutes. When the first-half buzzer finally sounded, the Crimson had only posted 16 points on the scoreboard, trailing--rather luckily--by only seven.

"We knew what to do, but we didn't do it. Hey, we didn't shoot," McLaughlin said.

During the second half, Harvard connected on its shots at a respectable 52 percent clip, but could never get back into the game despite the field goal improvement and a switch from zone to man-to-man defense.