Basketball

Last year Dartmouth's basketball team had to come from behind during the final weeks of play to win the Ivy League title and it looks as though they would have to do it the same way this winter. Currently in second place in the Ivy League, the Big Green has dropped only one contest since last month's report, while winning six. The courtmen lost a mid-January game to Princeton in overtime 61-59, then bounced back to wallop Penn 71-44, Boston University 72-48, Vermont 81-69, Harvard 74-59, Brown 67-42 and, in the most recent and most important game, Columbia 63-56.

With both teams battling to stay in contention for the Ivy League title, the Dartmouth-Columbia clash was a natural and packed Alumni Gymnasium to the rafters. Coach Doggie Julian assigned guard Gene Booth to cover the Lions' captain and scoring ace, Chet Forte, who at game time was the top scorer in the nation. Booth's tenacity, ability and shifty defensive tactics held the Columbia ace to a single basket and some eight free throws during the first half, and his final point total of 19 was considerably below average, a major factor in the Dartmouth victory.

It was a tightly fought, rather low-scoring contest, with both teams using the zone defense effectively. At halftime the score was 25-25, then midway in the second half Columbia pulled away to a 43-39 lead with Forte leading the way. At this point both Booth and center Jim Francis were on the bench, with four fouls each. Their two replacements, Tom Donahoe at center and sophomore Dave Gavitt, came through magnificently under pressure. Gavitt's set shots swished through four or five straight times to unnerve the Lions, while Donahoe rebounded superbly and tossed in some more baskets from under the hoop. The Indians tied the score at 45-all, then went ahead to remain in front for the balance of the game.

Leading scorer for Dartmouth in the 16 games to date is Captain Ron Judson, who is averaging just under 15 points per game from his guard and forward posts. Center Jim Francis's recent improvement has given him second place with a 13-points-per-game average, while sophomore Rudy LaRusso is averaging just over nine points, followed by guard Gene Booth (7.4), forward Dave Carruthers (5.8) and center and forward Tom Donahoe (5.6).

Dartmouth's team totals show a 71.6-points-per-game average, against 61.8 for the opposition, with a field goal percentage of .359 and a free throw percentage of .711. Dartmouth's rebounding total of 888 is the highest in the league.