Forward Dick Woolston drove in for a lay up and sank the free throw on the accompanying foul with about a minute left, to give the Crimson five its third straight victory, 45-44, in the team's Ivy League opener against Cornell Saturday night at Ithaca.

Woolston's three points broke up a 42-all tie, and held up against a furious Cornell last-minute drive led by its star sophomore, Lou Jordan. He scored on a drive in, with 50 seconds remaining, to make the score 45-44.

Then the varsity tried a freeze, which worked for only half a minute. Cornell regained possession, and had 16 seconds in which to attempt a winning goal. The ball was given to Jordan, who entered the game with a 19-point average, but he was so closely guarded by Dick Hurley that his hurried shot was far off the mark.

Hurley's fine job of holding down Jordan to a mere two field goals was typical of the fine defensive play the Crimson has thus far shown. In three contests, opponents have scored an average of less than 47 points per game, to put the varsity well up among the defensive leaders in the nation.

Second Half Closer

The Crimson led throughout, although always by narrow margins. The edge at half-time, when the score was 27-26, was the same as the winning one, one point, but it had ranged as high as seven points. The second half play was closer and more ragged, as each team tallied only 18 points.

The low score was also caused by the few field goals made, as each team connected only 13 times from the floor. Fouls were frequent, and free throws decisive. Despite Jordan's nine free throws, half his team's number, the varsity tallied one more, for the winning marker.

The Crimson showed its customary control of the backboards, as Coach Wilson often used both centers, Captain Ike Canty, 6-4, and sophomore Griff McClellan, 6-8, together, to deploy the maximum height available.