PROVIDENCE, R.I., Jan. 7--A well-balanced Brown quintet ripped off eight straight points within 55 seconds early in the second half and easily defeated a listless Harvard team, 73-53, at Marvel Gymnasium tonight.

After trailing by two points at half-time, mainly on the hot shooting of Pete Kelley, the Crimson took the lead with a little over 16 minutes remaining in the second half on a jump shot by Gary Borchard. Greg Heath tied the score at for the Bruins on a rebound, and then the roof fell and the sides with it.

The Crimson ball-handling, which had not been very impressive up to this point, latterly collapsed. Ball-hawking Bruins Dave Remington and Mike Cingiser picked off errant passes and turned them into easy baskets. In less than a minute Brown was leading, 49-41.

Calling time-out, coach Floyd Wilson tried to steady his boys but it was no use. Harvard was a beaten ball team. Brown scored eight more points after the break before Borchard finally ended the agony at 11:09 over five minutes after the preceding Crimson basket.

The first half began the way the second half ended. Remington and Heath Brown to a quick 9-2 lead, but Kelley, who started for the first time this year and scored 12 points, helped close the gap with corner jump shots.

Brown again went ahead by nine, 29-20, with six minutes left, but Tom Tangeman sparked a Crimson drive that cut the lead to 35-33 at halftime.

Second Straight Ivy Loss

Tonight's defeat was Harvard's second straight in Ivy League play, and again, it was not due to lack of ability. It was due to a great lack of spirit and hustle by the ballplayers.

After Brown scored a few quick baskets, the Crimson just gave up before a screaming crowd of Brown rooters, who sensed a romp. And what their senses told them Harvard's play confirmed. Bad passes, wild shots, lazy rebounding were clearly evident throughout the game.

In ability, this is a good Harvard basketball team. But its lack of spirit presents it from reaching its full potential.

In direct contrast, the powerful Crimson freshmen won their fourth game in as many tries, defeating the Brown cubs, 48-65. Lenny Strauss led the scorers with 29 points, including five straight foul shots in the last minutes that brought the Yardlings from three points down to victory. Bob Inman was also a big factor with 15.