Harris' personal foul problem turned out to be fairly typical of the Harvard squad, which was in foul trouble all evening. The total of 37 personal fouls may to some extent be attributed to first game inexperience, but with six regulars ending the game with four or more personals, McLaughlin may have something to think about.

One area which shouldn't be of much concern is the squad's overall freethrow shooting. The Crimson made the most of the few chances it got from the line, hitting a composite 21 of 26 for 81 per cent. By comparison, the Portuguese took 42 foul shots, but converted only 30 of them.

After an even first half on the boards, the Crimson big men asserted themselves at both ends of the floor, outrebounding the Portuguese 25 to 12 in the second half. Five Harvard players recorded five or more rebounds each, with Trout leading both teams with seven.

If any one aspect of the Crimson play was at all suspect, it would have to be the defense. "Offensively we were okay," said McCabe after the game, "but defensively we were lacking. They shouldn't have scored so many points."

Operating out of an unfamiliar press for much of the first half, the Crimson frequently allowed Portuguese players to get open downcourt or head toward the basket unchecked along the baseline. A few nice passes inside resulted in some easy layups for the Portuguese.

"Their quickness hurt us," McLaughlin said, "We knew we couldn't extend the defense against them, but we felt we wanted to try and extend it." It didn't work, so McLaughlin made the switch to a half court man-to-man defense early in the second half. That seemed to click as the cagers held the Portuguese to just 31 points in the final 20 minutes.