BASKETBALL
The Big Green cagers, after their im- portant victory at Cambridge over Harvard, lost a no-contest ball game to Army at West Point, 76-58. No match for the more experienced Cadets, they were unable to contain Army's versatile offensive thrusts. At mid-week Springfield College surprised the Green 81-77 in a very disappointing loss.
Coach Dave Gavitt set to work, however, giving team members individual attention in a ploy he terms, "taking them into the woodshed," in an attempt to bolster a highly specialized defensive system. In their next game, against Boston University, the Indians found themselves behind by seven points with less than two minutes remaining. Guard Henry Tyson, in foul trouble early in the first half, came into the game and as the defense took the ball away from B.U. he scored four times in rapid succession to give Dartmouth a 62-61 victory. As Captain Joe Colgan expressed it: "It seems like we have never been able to come from behind for a big win in my time at Dartmouth. This makes tonight very special." Joe was right, for on a two-game road trip the next weekend, the Indians threw a fright into Yale, though finally losing by seven points to one of the league's top teams, 77-70. That rivalry remains to be settled in Hanover in the near future, as Dart- mouth intends to stage another of their now-patented, thrilling Alumni Gym upsets.
The Big Green roared into Providence on Saturday for their game with Brown, fired up from their close contest with the Elis. Dartmouth never gave the Bruins a chance to get organized, and rolled to a most pleasant 74-68 win. The Indians now had two Ivy victories on the road, and could look forward to facing both clubs again, under more favorable circumstances at home.
The next weekend, Dartmouth had a Friday and Saturday night slate over Carnival weekend with Columbia and Cornell. Nationally ranked at number six, Columbia put in an appearance in Alumni Gym, and almost wished they had stayed home. The Green gave the Lions a big scare, leading through most of the ball game on the surge of outstanding play by guard Tom Reddy and forward Greg Pickering, both sophomores. Columbia center Dave Newmark, at 7-1, had no difficulty outjumping Indians on tip-offs, but couldn't seem to match the pace of the action. Best move of the night was when the tall Lion found Dartmouth guard Tom Reddy's dropped contact lens. Reddy, at 6-0, was appreciative, but Columbia was awarded no points.
At the end of regulation time the score was knotted at 54-all, on a lastminute surge by the Light Blue. Dartmouth jumped out in front in the overtime, but Tyson, Winn, and Colgan fouled out of the game. Indian reserves simply were no match for a deep and potentially great squad. The Lions again managed to tie the score at the buzzer, sending the game into a second overtime. Here the lack of depth told the story, for the Green was forced into several turnovers as Columbia quickly acted on the Indians' weakness, finally salvaging a victory 76-70. The Dartmouth campus, however, was inflamed over the way this sturdy band of sophomores, under the leadership of Captain Colgan, only senior on the squad, and Coach Gavitt, in his first year as head coach, had given the Lions their full measure.
The Big Red of Cornell, having defeated Harvard Friday night in Cambridge, were unable to make connections, due to a snowstorm, and returned to Ithaca. This disappointed the Dartmouth Winter Carnival fans, who already had missed out on the scheduled appearance of folk singer Tom Rush, who had also been unable to fly out of Boston. Back in Ithaca, Cornell agreed to a Monday evening rescheduling.
A smaller crowd than usual turned out for the delayed game; but they were all ardent fans. Their loyalty was more than rewarded, when Dartmouth opened up a 14-point spread in the first half. Cornell, the only team in the league to have beaten Columbia, could not be taken lightly. In the second stanza, the gig Red lost no time in capitalizing on a number of Indian mistakes. Dartmouth, anxious to open up the game, was trailing. Once again the home team was in foul trouble, but hung on to a regained three-point lead into the final second. A miscue by a Dartmouth player gave Cornell the ball under their own basket. Left unguarded to avoid a possible game- tying foul, Big Red forward Walt Esdaile tossed in the final points at the buzzer, as Dartmouth won 64-63.
The next weekend the tables were turned as Dartmouth traveled first to Columbia and then on to Cornell. The Lions, still smarting, gave their home fans little to cheer about until they finally pulled away from the Green, 82-56. The Indians arrived in Ithaca on schedule, and carried the battle to the Big Red. Once again Dartmouth jumped off to a wide lead, only to find themselves behind midway through the second half. Undaunted, they went on to win their third on-the-road League contest, this time 67-65.
After stiff games with Princeton and Penn away, Dartmouth then has an excellent chance to run off some victories, as they finish their season with three home games, against Yale, Brown, and Harvard. Ranked fourth in the league at the moment, and solidly so, Coach Gavitt's Big Green can be very proud of the way their spirit and determination have surprised friend and foe alike. No one expected such a performance from this young' team and their young coach, making the season that much more enjoyable. In future seasons, when Gavitt's team will have to be reckoned among the Ivy leaders, no one will nod knowingly when he says, as he did early this season, "I know that this year's squad is going to be both interesting and exciting, and I expect that we are going to surprise a number of the better teams along the way." Words enough.
Many Green shots but only one goal, as Yale took the Carnival hockey game, 5-1.
Captain Steve Atwood '6B as a miler andanchor man on the 2-mile relay team hasbeen a track standout this winter.
