Bill Dennis came off the bench and scored five points in the last five minutes to lead the Crimson quintet to a 49 to 48 triumph over Northeastern last night at the Indoor Athletic Building.

Coach Norm Shepard sent Dennis in with the count tied, 44-all. Almost immediately, the smooth-playing junior broke through a tight Husky defense for a field goal which gave his team a lead they never lost.

He followed with three foul shots with-in a minute, and then engineered a slow-motion ball control that kept the ball in Crimson hands until only one second remained.

Northeastern Grabs Lead

Until Dennis returned, the struggle was neither smooth nor encouraging.

The visitors raced off to a 5 to 0 lead before the Crimson checked in with a field goal after five minutes. Center Bill Cahill, high scorer for the game with 19 points, helped the Huskies maintain at least a four-point margin for the rest of the opening period which ended, 18 to 14.

Five sophomores played for Harvard after Dennis was pulled early in the second quarter, and Northeastern boosted its margin to 25-18. The half ended with the Crimson down 29-26.

Dick Manning, playing adequately at center for cold-plagued Dick Lionette, helped tie the count after the intermission. A quick exchange of baskets followed, and the lead changed hands five times in the last three minutes.

Then, after Manning and Harry Sacks, who scored 10 points, had moved the Crimson into the 44 to 44 deadlock, Dennis came back in to finish up. He collected high point honors for Harvard, scoring 15.

The Yardling five thumped the Husky freshmen, 72 to 40, with Bruce Downey paving the route with 13 points.