The freshman basketball team outscored Dartmouth by 16 points in the last 25 minutes, but still fell to the Indians, 101-99, last night in the IAB.

"We played sloppy for the first half and paid for it by losing," Harvard captain James Brown said. For most of the first half, the Crimson played lackadaisical defense and handled the ball poorly.

In the first 16 minutes of the first half. Dartmouth penetrated the Crimson defense for 53 points. Its James Brown picked up 29 of the 53. In the same time period. Harvard managed to score only 35 points. By halftime, however, the Crimson had narrowed the Dartmouth advantage to 13.

For the first 11 minutes of the second half, Dartmouth practically matched Harvard score for score. Then the Crimson cagers. down 83-73. began to rally Jean Wilkinson hit two charity tosses and 30 seconds later stole a pass dribbled the length of the court. and scored. Stan Mark hit a 20-footer and a minute later Harvard's James Brown blocked a shot and threw the ball to Wilkinson under the Dartmouth hoop. Wilkinson scored to tighten the game at 83-81 Dartmouth.

Finally, with 5:43 remaining, Wilkinson gave Harvard the lead. 86-85, on a jumper Mike Saville, however, quickly grabbed the lead back for Dartmouth. Possession of the lead seesawed for the next two minutes before Saville put his team in the lead for good.

The freshmen would probably have broken away from Dartmouth in the closing minutes if they had worked more on the Indian's Brown and forced him to foul. Brown, who finished with 52 points' and repeatedly killed Crimson rallies with untimely scores, carried four fouls for most of the second half.

Last month, the freshman cagers beat Dartmouth, 91-89.