Harvard's basketball team managed an uninspired effort against M. I. T. in drafty Rockwell Cage last night and topped the Engineers, 77-70, for its sixth win in 15 games.

The victory set the stage for the Crimson's rematch with Dartmouth at 8 p. m. on Wednesday. The freshmen will seek their eighth straight triumph in a 6 p. m. preliminary.

The M. I. T. squad, whose record fell to 4-8, opened the game with strong shooting and led for nine minutes of the first half, though never by more than three or four points.

Then guard Dale Dover, who finished with 17 tallies and 11 rebounds, scored on a driving lay-up, hit two free throws, and Harvard was ahead to stay. With Ernest Hardy controlling the boards in the first half, the Crimson moved to a 47-39 half-time advantage.

Hardy, who collected 15 rebounds in the first half, paced Harvard with 21 points, finished with 20 grabs, and blocked five shots.

At the start of the second half, the Crimson hit a disastrous cold spell during which is made repeated ballhandling and passing mistakes. Harvard didn't score a field goal for seven minutes, and M. I. T. inched its way back into the game to tie the score at 50-50.

Junior guard Joe Stanislaw tallied a fast break lay-up that brought the Crimson back to life. After Dover had scored two more twisting drives, Hardy made a lay-up on a feed from Stanislaw, and Harvard pulled ahead by twelve.

Lackluster

The Crimson's lackluster play can be attributed in part to coach Bob Harrison's game plan. "We knew there'd be scouts from Brown and Dartmouth at this game," he said. "We used a free-lance offense and a zone defense so that the scouts wouldn't see anything. We set out not to show them anything, and that's what we did," he explained.

Harrison substituted frequently, but said that he didn't get the performance out of his bench that he had hoped for. Without 6 7" forward Brian Newmark, who didn't play because of mononucleosis, the Crimson had difficulty controlling the boards.