BASKETBALL
In one of the most inspiring finishes seen on the local boards in many years, the Dartmouth basketball team overcame a 9 point deficit in the waning moments of a League encounter with Columbia, only to have the Lions break a tie in the final seconds with two free throws and win the game 50-48. With the ball in Dartmouth's possession, some 40 seconds to play, and the score tied, Captain Ed Leede elected to freeze the ball until there were only 5 or 6 seconds left. He then cut loose with a long shot, which would have won the game if it had connected. It didn't, and Columbia gained possession to heave the ball down the court in time for a final lay-up shot as the whistle was about to blow. Big Emil Hudak crashe'd into the Columbia player in a desperate effort to ward off the certain score. The man didn't score on a field goal, but he did get a double foul. With time running out, he calmly made good on both attempts, thereby winning the game for Columbia.
Dartmouth needed a final burst of derring-do in order to pull even with Columbia, for the Green was behind most of the contest. Before the first period was half over, Ed Leede had four personal fouls against him, which inhibited him considerably and caused Coach Elmer Lampe to withdraw him from the game in order to save him for the crucial final moments. Without Leede, the Green was somewhat lethargic, to put it mildly, on the scoring end and this circumstance undoubtedly cost Dartmouth the game. The high scorer for the home team was Emil Hudak with 15 points, his best evening of the season.
The team had one of its most successful Christmas trips in years, showing the flag to alumni in various centers of the country and winning three out of four contests in the process. In the Drake Tournament at Des Moines on December 29 and 30, the team ran smack into Ossie Cowles powerhouse Minnesota quintet in the opening round to drop their only game of the trip. Led by a 6' 10" center whom Ossie had coaxed out of the bushes somewhere, the Galloping Gophers defeated Coach Lampe's boys by the decisive score of 64-52, thereby keeping intact a winning streak for the season for Minnesota and inflicting the first setback of the year for the Green. In the consolation round the next night, Dartmouth beat Vanderbilt by the identical score of 64-52, with Captain Ed Leede scoring 17 points to lead (no pun intended) his team to victory.
The Green came to grips with another Big Ten foe on January 1 and edged out Northwestern by the close score of 52-49 on the same day the Purple football team was taking its somewhat dubious decision in the Rose Bowl. The Northwestern game saw Ed Leede again take scoring honors for Dartmouth with 17 points, with center Red Rowe coming through with 11 markers as the other Green performer to break into double figures. Two nights later, the team stopped off at Roch- ester on the way home and knocked off that aggregation by the satisfactory margin of 64-51. Captain Leede had an usually big night, even for him, with 9 field goals and 6 free throws for a total of 24 points. Red Rowe, who is coming along better every week at the pivot post, was second for the Green with 14 points.
Before the Christmas trip, the Green opened the League season in Cambridge by defeating Harvard 72-68 in overtime. Fighting its way back from an 8-point deficit midway in the second half, Dartmouth pulled even with the Harvards at the end of the regular game. This accumulated steam stood them in good stead in the overtime and they forged ahead to win by 4 points. Captain Ed Leede had a terrific night with 34 points, thereby breaking the record for total points scored by any Dartmouth player in a single contest. This fabulous total was amassed on 12 field goals and 10 free throws, with two of the latter scored to pull Dartmouth even with Harvard 59-59 at the end of the regular game.
