Worcester--The Crimson basketball team built up a big lead in the first half over Holy Cross here last night, and then held on in the closing minutes of the game to defeat the Crusaders, 96-87.

With a minute and a half left in the game, Holy Cross had cut the Crimson's lead to four points. Then Harvard's Jim Fitzsimmons hit a free throw, Marshall Sanders grabbed the rebound from the Crusaders' next shot, and the Crimson regained control of the game with a disciplined stall.

Holy Cross opened the game with a four-man box zone and one-on-one on Fitzsimmons, but the Crimson quickly picked it apart, moving the ball well and hitting the open man. The defense more than back-fired: Fitzsimmons went on to score 31 points, hitting 14-of-27 from the floor and three-of-three from the line.

When the Crusaders switched to a straight zone, Harvard continued to hit the open man and crash the boards. It built up a 35-17 advantage midway through the half, and went into the locker room at half-time ahead, 54-38.

"They beat us badly in the first half," Holy Cross coach Jack Donohue said after the game. "Their rebounding really killed us because it gave them easy field goals underneath. That put us too far behind, and all we could do was try and fight our way back into the game."

At the start of the second half, Wilkinson directed the Crimson to a 22-point lead, 69-47. But then the Crusaders rallied with Stan Grayson leading the way. Grayson finished the game with 24 points, hitting ten-of-15 from the floor.

Holy Cross pulled within twelve midway through the half, and near the end came within four. "That's been one of our big problems all year," Harvard coach Bob Harrison said. "When we get ahead of a team, we don't step on them and put the game out of their reach."

Tony Jenkins, who did an outstanding defensive job on Jim Schnurr, Holy Cross's leading scorer, scored 20 points (9-of-15). James Brown, taking over on the boards for injured Floyd Lewis, led all rebounders with 16. He also scored 17 points.