Starting off with a gust of brilliancy in the opening session, lapsing almost to the breaking point towards the half, rallying at last in a desperate and effective effort to retrieve victory, the University basketball-team-won out in its struggle with the New Hampshire quintet at Hemenway Gymnasium last night. After 30 minutes of breathless play, with the two teams dead-locked at 23-all, the striving Crimson five pulled ahead and slowly pressed their advantage till the final whistle blew with the score 41-33.
Employing the same tactics that turned back the championship Worcester aggregation last week, Coach Wachter's men swept all before them during the greater part of the first period, amassing a total of 15 points before being halted. At this point the Granite State team, led by the sensational Perry, commenced to function and sank basket after basket in the Crimson net, their furious rally ending only with the call of time. Through the early stretches of the final session, also, the University team seemed bewildered by the impetuous attack of the visitors; but with 10 minutes to play the Crimson forwards staged a remarkable come-back, piling in seven baskets while holding their opponents scoreless.
Superior Team Play Wins
It was superior team-work that won for the Crimson last night. Using to good advantage their experience against the Engineers on Saturday, the University team completely bewildered their opponents by the dazzling speed with which they passed the ball over the court, most of the Crimson tallies resulting from a rapid criss-cross in front of the opposing basket. In addition to sound court tactics the Crimson total was swelled considerably by a succession of remarkable distance shots by Fitts and Gordon, the former especially excelling in goals from difficult angles.
Last year the New Hampshire five crushed Coach Wachter's men, 34-13, and were favored to repeat the performance last night. The state players also held an impressive record this season with victories over Portland A. C., Bates, and Maine to their credit, but they were out-classed by the aggressiveness and flawless technique of the home team, which in this respect outdid even its brilliant exhibition against Worcester last week.
The feature player of the evening was Perry of the New Hampshire five, the State captain proving himself a bulwark on both offence and defence and accounting for 23 of his team's 33 points. It was largely due to his accurate angle shots that the Granite State players were able to make their last-minute stand in the first period and gain the half-time verdict by the margin of one basket, 19-17. For the University, Captain McLeish was again high-scorer, closely followed by Fitts and Gordon with six baskets each. The Crimson leader was responsible for 17 points of his team's score, counting nine times from fouls and tallying four baskets from the floor, while Fitts especially played a brilliant game at center, consistently beating McKinley to the touch and exhibiting his usual accurate shooting and heady passing game.
The summary: Score: Harvard 41, New Hampshire State 33. Goals from floor: Fitts 6, Gordon 6, McLeish 4, Perry 7, McKinley 4, Metcalf. Goals from fouls: McLeish 9, Perry 9. Referee: Hoyt. Umpire: Coady. Time: 20-minute halves.
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Ragged Practice by University Team
