PROVIDENCE, R.I.--Overwhelmed by a tall, rangy Brown quintet, the Crimson basketball team went down to a 50 to 39 defeat last night.

Led by Captain Charley Lutz, the hoopsters put up a good fight, but superior shooting and a decided advantage in getting the ball off the backboard gave the Bruins a well-earned victory.

Fourth Quarter Rally

A stirring rally in the fourth quarter provided the few Harvard supporters in the stands with a thrill, but it was throttled by a smoothly functioning Brown five before the invaders came within striking distance of tying up the score.

Bill Webber with 11 points led the Crimson forces, but on the whole the team's offense was ragged. Charley Lutz scored nine tallies, five on free throws. Although he was unable to focus his aim on the basket all evening, he made up for it in dogged scrap.

Platt High Scorer

Harry Platt, Bruin captain, was the evening's high scorer with 14 points, and second to him on the home team was Jack Padden with nine.

Harvard managed to hold even through the first quarter, keeping the score down to 13 to 12 at its end. But by the end of the half the margin had increased from one point to a dozen as the scoreboard read 26 to 18.

The big Brown drive came in the third period, in which the Bears scored 17 points while holding the Crimson to nine. A stirring last quarter was the scene of a final bid for victory. Joe Romano led the rally, which reached a high tide at 45 to 36.

To add to an unpleasant evening, the Yardlings were soundly trounced by a strong Brown Freshman five.