NEW HAVEN, March 8--Yale's hot-and-cold basketball team defeated the Crimson, 71 to 65, Saturday night to dump the losers for good into last place in the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League. The Elis combined a fast-breaking offense with almost complete control of the defensive boards, but the Crimson demonstrated an ability to score frequently, which may give Yale some trouble in the return game next Saturday.

In the preliminary contest, Coach Floyd Wilson's freshman quintet completed the best season for a Yardling team in recent years by posting an impressive 58 to 44 victory over a comparatively weak Eli freshman squad. The winners led by Paul Shaw and Captain Rollin Perry, rebounded excellently and played well on both offense and defense.

Bill Dennis again led both varsity teams in scoring with 21 points. But tour Yale players scored over 13 points, while Bob Gremp and Ed Krinsky were the only other Crimson players to hit double figures.

The Crimson jumped off to an early lead in the game, and led by two points at the quarter, mainly on Dick Lionette's and Dennis' six field goals. Yale bounced back on John Weber's hook shots, however, and went ahead at the intermission between halves, 39 to 36.

Led by Captain Ed McHugh and sophomore center Spence Schaitter, the Elis still held the three-point margin by the end of the third quarter. Dennis scored the first seven points for the Crimson in this quarter.