Basketball

Two days before the Carnival basketball game with Yale, Coach Doggie Julian spoke informally to a group of townspeople and College folk assembled at a sort of "Monday quarterback" luncheon. The Indians at that time had a record of only six wins and nine defeats, and had just been defeated by Princeton and Holy Cross.

"Don't blame the boys," Julian said, "they're doing the best they can. They had a long, tough trip over Christmas, then immediately had to go away to play Penn and Princeton. I guess I'm to blame partly for leaving some of the players in the game so long. But," he added, "we've been having some good workouts lately, the players seem back in good shape and I'm hoping we'll do better from here on out."

Prophetic words indeed, for the Indians roared past Yale at Carnival, 73-68, upset Columbia in New York (a hard thing to do in any year) by a 71-70 score, and then exploded a bombshell by routing Holy Cross, a team ranked 13th in the nation, by an 83-67 score. This past weekend on two successive nights the Indians walloped Cornell, 79-61, and once again defeated Columbia, this time 61-50.

Dartmouth's overall record of eleven wins and nine losses is not impressive, but five of these defeats came during the Western trip and Dartmouth is now tied for second place in the Ivy League with a good chance to take over first place if they continue to play as they have during the past three weeks.

The Big Green rejuvenation has been sparked by several factors. Captain Toby Julian, a guard, has been truly sensational in several recent contests. Julian has been scoring well himself, but more important, his play-making and stellar defensive work have been amazing at crucial moments. Guard Gene Booth has also performed well on defense and the two men have teamed up to give the Indians a defensive edge in all recent contests. Up front, pivotman Jim Francis is still the Indians' top scorer, averaging nearly 15 points per game, while veteran Ron Judson with a 13-points-per-game average and sophomore Dave Carruthers (10-point average) have been doing the bulk of the scoring.

Dartmouth's bench strength has also been a major factor, with Coach Julian using his reserves more frequently. Veteran Tom Donahoe has played well both at center and at forward and is averaging five points a game in part-time action. Guard Herb Markman has shown unexpected strength in spelling either Julian or Booth, while guard Larry Blades and forward Hal Douglas have contributed much needed strength.

In the second game with Columbia, a crucial one for the Indians against the league-leading team, Dartmouth played one of the best games of the season. Ron Judson paced the Indian attack with 23 points, while Gene Booth collected 14 from his guard post. Captain Toby Julian, playing despite a charley horse suffered the night before against Cornell, was outstanding on defense, and the Indians generally worked well together.

Chick Igaya '57 returns to his books after winning second place for Japan in the Olympic slalom at Cortina. A 4th by Brooks Dodge '51 in that race was the best showing by an American in the ski events.