WORCESTER--Time ran out on the Harvard basketball team here last night, as the hoopsters fell to Holy Cross, 77-71, at the Crusaders' Hart Recreation Center.

Following a dismal first half--during which the Crimson shot just 34 per cent from the floor and fell behind, 40-33--Harvard managed to pull to within one point on several occasions in the second stanza, but just failed to break into the lead and ice a comeback win.

The loss--the Crimson's third in a row--drops the squad's season record to 2-3, although the Ivy mark remains at 1-0.

In spite of the loss, the Harvard performance--particularly in the second half--was probably its most impressive of the season. The Crimson did what it had to do against the Crusaders' tightly-packed zone defenses--primarily 2-3 or 3-2--managing to get the ball low for layups and close inside shots by Joe Carrabino and Monroe Trout.

Defensively, the Crimson avoided any obvious breakdowns, executing its combined man-to-man, zone defense sharply, forcing turnovers and occasional bad shots by the hot-shooting Crusaders.

"This is one of those losses that--even though we lost--you have to feel good about the way the team played," Harvard captain Donald Fleming said after the game. Crimson coach Frank McLaughlin agreed. "I'm really proud of the kids, I really am," he said. "To come in here and play like they did under those conditions--that's a real credit to them," he added.

With the two squads basically even on the boards--Harvard led overall, 36-32--shooting percentages tell an awful lot of the story. The Crimson managed to improve on its cold-as-ice, 34 per cent performance in the last 20 minutes, going 15-for-33, and finished the game shooting an uninspired 39 per cent.

Holy Cross, on the other hand, shot the lights out--especially in the first half--going 19-for-31 in the opening period and 32-for-55 (58 per cent) overall. For the most part unable to get the ball inside against Harvard's collapsible press, the Crusaders--especially Kevin Greaney (16), Eddie Thurman (16), and James Carlton (17)--just bombed the twines from the outside, connecting consistently on shots from the 15-20 foot range.

Carrabino--who has been gunning from the corners for most of the season--found those shots completely closed off in the early going, and moved inside, where he collected a game-high 23 points with an eight-for-22 performance from the field.

The big sophomore forward played tough at both ends of the floor, following up his own shots (nine offensive rebounds) and helping to close the inside to the Crusaders.

Turnovers--usually a crippling Crimson malady--were less of a problem last night, except when the pressure was on. Late in the second half, for example, with the score Holy Cross 68, Harvard 67, Fleming ripped the ball off the boards and started upcourt with a chance to give Harvard its first lead since early in the game.

But Carlton intercepted a Fleming-to-Dixon pass, and flipped the ball to center Pat Elzie, who converted a crowd-pleasing slam dunk to raise the Holy Cross lead to three. And Harvard never got that close again.