HANOVER, N.H., January 10--"It's the first quarter I worry about most," varsity basketball coach Floyd Wilson said as he watched his team practice Monday afternoon. "We seem to get off to bad starts most of the time. If we can hold our own for the first few minutes, we'll do all right against any team we play this year."

For a while at the Dartmouth gym tonight, it looked like the Crimson was off to a good start. Dick Hurley dropped in a basket and followed it with a foul about to give the varsity a quick 3-0 lead.

Then the roof fell in. At the five-minute mark, the Big Green, sparked by sophomore Dave Carruthers' long sets and the jump shots of Herb Markman, had pulled away to an eight-point lead, 12 to 4. By halftime Dartmouth had stretched its margin to eleven points, leading by a score of 33 to 22.

At the beginning of the second half, the Crimson rallied to cut the Dartmouth lead to five points, 37 to 32. Then the Big Green rallied to go ahead by ten, and were never seriously threatened again.

The last few minutes were marked by heavy fouling as the varsity went into a full-court press in an unsuccessful attempt to pull out a victory. Bill Riggs scored eight points for the Crimson in the last four minutes, but Dartmouth matched his total. The game ended with Dartmouth ahead 71 to 58.

Markman and Carruthers, each with 22 points, led the Big Green to the victory. Ike Canty, with 14, and Phil Haughey and Riggs with 12, were the varsity's high scorers.

The Crimson was badly out rebounded throughout the game, played before a near capacity and very partisan crowd. The Indians captured a total of 36 rebounds, to only 26 for the varsity.

From the floor, the Crimson was outscored by 24 points, caging only 17 baskets while Dartmouth was dropping in 29. The varsity sank 24 out of 37 shots from the foul line while the Big Green cashed in 13 times in 18 attempts.

The varsity now has a 5-5 record for the season, while the Indians are 6-7. After winning its first five games, Dartmouth lost seven in a row before tonight's victory.