The Harvard basketball team may have set an embarassing record over the weekend. While dropping Ivy League decisions to Pennsylvania and Princeton, the punchless Crimson gave up the ball without a shot on violations, bad passes, etc.--42 times.

The Penn game Friday was close most of the way; only three points separated the teams at the half. In the end the 13-point margin of the Penn victory, 69-56, was practically identical to the differences in mistakes. Penn lost the ball 11 times, Harvard 23.

Saturday night was a farce; Princeton won 99-71. The Tigers had superior height and ability, but the Crimson's carelessness helped them along.

In the-first ten minutes of the game, Harvard committed eight costly turnovers, giving the Ivy co-favorite Tigers the chance to build up a 28-11 margin.

Princeton got outstanding shooting from its sophomore whiz Geof Petrie. The 6-2 guard flashed several tricky moves as he scored 10 of the first 28 points. Teaming with captain Joe Heiser in the back-court, Petrie showed the same disrespect for Harvard guards Bob Beller and Mickey Norlander that Penn's Tom Northrup and Steve Pearsall displayed Friday night.

Dominating the Quaker offense, Northrup and the 5-8 Pearsall combined for 40 points. With 6-6 Carl Robbins controlling the backboards and scoring 16 points overall, the Quakers blew the game open immediately after intermission.

As has been customary for Harvard this year there was a spark of life late in the game, but, also as usual, it wasn't bright enough. Crowd-pleaser Bobby Johnson led a spirited assault which cut the Quaker advantage to six with six minutes left.

But Northrup banked a tricky left-handed layup, got fouled and converted the free throw, breaking the Crimson back. The Red and Blue is now 5-7, Harvard is 5-6, and Princeton is 11-3, 3-0 in the League.

Although Harvard lost both games badly, showing virtually no teamwork and doing nothing to adjust to changes in the opposition's strategy, there were a couple of individual standouts.

Bob Kanuth especially, turned in steady, unheroic but super competent games. Against Princeton, he thrwe in several arched corner shots, winding up with a team high 17 points and a game high 10 rebounds.

Petrie wound up with '21 points for Princeton. Heiser followed with 18, 6-9 center Chris Thomforde 16, 6-7 John Haarlow 16, and David Lawyer 13. Gallagher totalled 23 points for the two games and Norlander 24.

Harvard plays Dartmouth Tuesday at the IAB.