Columbia handed Harvard's varsity basketball team its eighth straight defeat Saturday, 86 to 49, and in the process the Crimson helped their hosts to a new Lion scoring record. Their 37 field goals and 12 free shots surpassed a former high of 76 point against Princeton last season.

Ed Smith justified his choice as a starter by Coach Bill Barclay, sharing Harvard scoring honors (9 points) with John Rockwell. But the work of the pair went by the boards in the course of the evening, as Columbia, paced by Norm Skinner with 23 points, grabbed an early lead and was never headed.

Easy Job

The Lions held an 11-point lead at the end of the first quarter, led 36 to 21 at the half, picked up momentum like a souped-up Ford, and reached the all-time scoring high well before the final buzzer sounded.

The victory was the second EIBL win in a row for the defending league champions, and the fourth circuit defeat in succession for the Crimson. Columbia has lost only one league game. HARVARD (49)   g  f  p Rockwell, lf  2  5  9 Gabler  1  4  6 Petrillo, rf  0  1  1 McCurdy  2  0  4 Smith, c  3  3  9 Prior  4  0  8 Gannon, lg  1  0  2 Davis  2  0  4 Covey, rg  2  1  5 Crosby  0  1  1 Totals  17  15  49