Basketball

Carefully lettered signs in the Hanover Inn lobby during the January 16-18 weekend and spot announcements over the WDCR student' radio station told Alumni Council members, visitors, townspeople and students that "Saturday, January 17 is 'Be Kind to Doggie Day'." Apparently the visiting Manhattan basketball team did not pay much attention to the signs as it went all out to try to beat the Big Green at Alumni Gymnasium, and it took a long set shot by guard Dave Gavitt with three seconds left in the second overtime period to give the Indians their ninth victory of the season by a 63-61 score.

It was the fifth straight win for Dartmouth, following an early January loss to Holy Cross in Worcester by an 83-66 count. Prior to the Holy Cross contest the Big Green played Butler, Vanderbilt and Bradley before Christmas, losing to all three by rather narrow margins, and then picked up to win the Queen City Tournament in Buffalo by downing 12th-ranked Brigham Young in the opener, 88-75, and edging Canisius, 72-62. Guard Chuck Kaufman was voted the most valuable player at that tournament.

With Kaufman out of action, the Indians had difficulty defeating Yale in their first Ivy League encounter by a 52-51 score. It was at this point that The Dartmouth reported team morale was low and that the squad was having trouble with "petty jealousies and disputes." There are too many players gunning for scoring honors, complained The Dartmouth.

Admittedly Coach Julian was having difficulty putting together a combination that would be most effective. Tom Aley, a letterman and center, had withdrawn from the team early because of his studies, as did Bob Hoagland, a strong forward candidate. Chuck Kaufman's loss at Yale hurt and later, against Cornell, sophomore center George Ramming, who had been playing brilliantly, tore some ligaments in his ankle and is out indefinitely.

But despite the need to juggle the lineup for almost every game, the Indians went on from the Yale encounter to wallop Columbia, 69-40, thump Cornell, 77-58, defeat Harvard, 74-56, and then edge a powerful Manhattan team, 63-61, in double-overtime.

Whether, with Ramming out of action, the Indians can keep up this torrid pace is questionable, but on the basis of continually improving performances, and the way some of the sophomores and reserves are helping out the regulars, the odds are still with the Big Green to retain the Ivy title.

Statistically the Big Green is doing well with the team hitting a .404 average on field goals and a .655 free-throw percentage while garnering 67.9 points per game. Captain and forward Rudy LaRusso is the team's leading scorer, averaging 15.8 points per game, with guard Chuck Kaufman second with a 13.8 average and guard Walt Sosnowski third with 9.0. Forward Gary Vanderweghe and center George Ramming are hitting at about 8 points per game, with guard Dave Gavitt, forward Bryant Barnes and center Dave Farnsworth getting about four points per game in limited action. LaRusso is by all odds the team's top rebounder; of the nearly 700 recorded by Dartmouth he has 200 to his credit.