Despite a trulyphenomenal performance by 6'5" guard Bob Hooft, the freshman cagers fell victim to St. Thomas More, 82-67, before a sparse crowd at the IAB last night.

Hooft netted a game-high 38 points, hauled in five rebounds, and assisted on four other baskets in playing his best game of the season to date.

Who says they don't play good basketball at Harvard? The game opened with some of the best two-way action seen all year on a Crimson basketball court.

Both teams came out running the break and pounding the offensive and defensive boards before St. Thomas opened up an 18-6 lead seven minutes into the half. High School All-American John Thomas led the explosive attack with two quick tip-ins and a short jumper from the low post.

The Harvard offense began to click when playmaker Rich Bengal connected with Hooft, cutting across the middle from the weak side. Only Hooft's hot shooting from inside the key kept the Crimson close as St. Thomas held its steady lead, 20-12.

Midway through the half, Harvard's running game began to falter. Successive turnovers resulted in St. Thomas More layups as the lead ballooned to 34-18. Bengal began forcing the ball into the middle where Hooft and 6'7" pivotman Alex James were well covered.

With five minutes left in the half, the score was still 34-18, but Hooft began to do his thing. A bank shot from the right side, a steal, a running righthander, and Harvard was back in the game. The half ended with a Harvard/Hooft surge that brought the Crimson to within seven, 38-31.

The beginning of the second half saw St. Thomas coming out smoking. John Thomas (18 points, 18 rebounds) tipped in a bank shot and connected on a foul-line jumper as St. Thomas jumped to a 46-34 lead.

Hooft responded with a long jumper from the left corner, and another from the right side, but it was not enough to stop the onslaught.

Big blue shooters consistently found the good percentage shot, capitalizing on Harvard's inability to set up an effective zone defense quickly.

With only 12:12 left in the game, the Crimson found itself further behind, 57-40. Hooft heated up again, and swished three 20 footers from the left of the key, but the Crimson defense remained very weak. Petty fouling hindered an already sputtering Crimson attack, and St. Thomas led 62-46 with ten minutes left.

Stall Offense

With only 2:40 left in the game, and leading 75-64, St. Thomas then went into a very effective stall offense. Unable to gain possession of the ball, Harvard players were forced to foul, granting St. Thomas yet a bigger lead and the inevitable victory.

"This was one of our better games," O'Neil said afterwards, "but they had a lot of talent, too."

What about Hooft, coach? "Oh, Hooft? He's just a tremendous player," he added.