The starting lineup of Harvard's basketball team will undergo its first change of the season when the Crimson hosts Dartmouth tonight in the IAB.

Sophomore Jeff Grate will replace George Neville in the backcourt, and 6-6 junior Lynn Bennion will start in place of John Scott at forward. The change isn't the result of any panic button pushing by Coach Floyd Wilson; both Grate and Bennion convincingly earned first-string berths last weekend.

Bennion has been sidelined for much of the season with an injury, but at Penn and Princeton he played extremely well, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounded. Although he lacks muscle, Bennion will give Harvard some of the extra height it so desperately needs.

Grate could be destined for an illustrious basketball career at Harvard. The 6.1 guard has shown flashes of brilliance, and at Princeton he led the Crimson in rebounding. All he needs is a little more experience and self-confidence.

Victory to Cherish

With this revamped lineup. Harvard should be able to score its fifth victory in fifteen games against Dartmouth tonight. It will be a victory to cherish -- for it could conceivably be the Crimson's only Ivy League win of the year. A loss would almost surely guarantee Harvard last place in the League.

Dartmouth has a 2.9 record to date, 0.4 in Ivy play. The Indians lost to Columbia, 77 to 72; Cornell, 69 to 57; Princeton, 74 to 62; and Penn. 87 to 43.

The Green's starting lineup contains no outstanding players, but the quintet is fairly tall and well-balanced. Dartmouth's leading scorer is 6.5 Pete Dunlop, who is averaging 14 points per game. Their other forward is 6-4 Chris Kinum, with an 11-point average. The guards are 6-1 Bill Engster (6.8) and 6-2 Joe Colgan (4.7). Dartmouth's center, 6-7 Gunnar Malm, has the best name in the Ivy League and a 12.7 average. HARVARD SCORING   FG  FT  Pts.  Ave. Sedlacek  119  60  298  21.2 Dressler  86  38  210  15.0 Williams  54  47  155  11.0 Neville  37  24  98  7.0 Grate  34  24  92  7.7 Scott  26  33  85  6.0