There was little--if any--home-court advantage at the IAB last night, and for a basketball team which depends heavily on the coziness of a warm crowd in Harvard's musty little gym, the absence may have been crucial.

A medium-sized crowd of Crimson fans was cancelled out by about 1000 rather vocal Northeastern rooters who transferred from the Green Line at Park Street and made straight for the top floor of the IAB.

So instead of coming from 17 down early in the second half and roaring back for the win, the Crimson managed to cut the lead to two with just over five minutes left, but then succumbed to the Huskies' four-corner, semi-stall offense, 72-67, which Northeastern coach Jim Calhoun had instituted following the Harvard second-half surge.

The loss is the Crimson's third in a row, coming after demoralizing defeats to Ivy rivals Penn and Princeton last weekend. Going into this weekend's important contests at Columbia and Cornell, the squad's record stands at 12-7, 5-2 in the Ivy League.

Northeastern--ranked either third or fourth in New England depending on the week--currently stands with an impressive 18-5 record.

After an evenly played opening ten minutes--the Crimson led by one, 17-16, with about ten minutes left in the first half--the Harvard attack fell apart. During the next six-and-a-half minutes, the Huskies reeled off 14 straight points, and before Crimson co-captain Mark Harris sunk a what-the-hell-and-keep-your-fingers crossed from the middle of a crowded lane with 3:30 left, Harvard trailed 30-17.

Turnovers, a quick Huskie defense, and usually sure shots that just wouldn't fall plagued the Crimson during that stretch. With both teams running fast-break offenses at full tilt, things got a little too quick for a tired Crimson squad.

Donald Fleming and Joe Carrabino missed easy jumpers, Monroe Trout--two for seven on the night--couldn't convert after pulling down three offensive rebounds, and everybody turned the ball over in an amazing variety of ways. Harvard was down by eleven at halftime, 34-23.

After Chuck Marshall missed his third Bermuda shoot attempt of the year, the Huskies started the second half in just the same way as they had ended the first, quickly pulling away even further, and going up by 17 on a Dave Leitao drive early in the half. With about nine-and-a-half minutes left in the game, Harvard still trailed by 13, 56-43. Then, starting with a Carrabino jumper from the right corner with nine minutes to go, the Crimson poured in ten unanswered points, a string which pulled the Crimson to within three, 56-53.

Northeastern 72 Harvard 67

at the IAB

NORTHEASTERN (18-5); Harris 9 10-12 28; Moss 5 2-3 12; Rucker 6 5-6 17; Leitao 2 2-4 6; Braswell 0 1-2 1; Jefferson 2 0-0 2; Robinson 0 0-0 0; Helneck 2 0-0 4; Lehmann 0 0-0 0; TEAM 26 20-27 72.

HARVARD (12-7) Harris 2 0-0 4; Fleming 9 3-4 21; Carrabino 6 0-0 12; Dixon 1 0-0 2; Mannix 7 0-0 14; Taylor 1 0-0 2; Clarks 1 0-0 2; Trout 2 4-6 8; McCabe 1 0-0 2; White 0 0-0 0; TEAM 30 7-10 67

A minute-and-a-half later, a beautiful Fleming-to-Carrabino feed made the score 59-57 in favor the visitors, and after Fleming pulled down a rebound to end Northeastern's next possession, it looked like the Crimson was on its way to yet another home court comeback.

Last night, however, the squad fell just a little short. Northeastern regained possession courtesy of a Harvard turnover, and Huskie coach Calhoun called a well placed timeout.

After the break, the Huskies came out with a new look--a four-corner, Princetonesque stall, which the Crimson failed to break in the final minutes. Moments later, the Huskies extended their tenuous two-point lead to seven, while desperate Crimson substitutions came up short.

Crimson coach Frank McLaughlin remained nearly satisfied by the Crimson's performance. "I think our team showed a lot of character," he said after the game. "Lots of teams down 17 would have said screw this and given up. I think our comeback shows how good this team really is."