WORCESTER--The way the Harvard men's basketball team played in last night's 76-71 loss at Holy Cross, the surprise of the evening was that it managed to be flirting with victory in the final minute.

After racking up 22 turnovers, the Crimson--now 2-2 on the season, 1-0 in the Ivy League--somehow pulled to within one point of the Crusaders with only 22 seconds to go, after an amazing sequence.

Many of Harvard's giveaways had resulted from a seemingly new strategy of Coach Frank McLaughlin's which called for passes along the triangle route, from the top of the key to baseline corners to under the basket. Often as not, the Crusaders picked off the visitors' passes.

For most of the game, Harvard found itself dominated by a potent Holy Cross double threat: great outside shooting and even better rebounding. Crusader junior guard Jim Runcie (16 points) and Larry Westbrook (eight-for-10, all from beyond 15 feet) connected from all over the court. And when Harvard played its 3-2 defense more closely, center Ernie Floyd and forwards Walter Coates and Pat Elzie used their quickness and inside strength to give the Cross two or three field goal attempts each trip down the floor.

Harvard junior forward Joe Carrabino--who scored a game-high 23 points--kept the Crimson in the game during the second half with his own series of picture-perfect rainbows.

But suddenly, with 5:30 remaining in the game, the cagers found themselves with new hope after Floyd and Coates fouled out. Harvard started to whittle away at an 11-point Crusader advantage.

With 1:30 left, most of the 2500-plus spectators at the Hart Recreation Center began filing out of the arena, their team leading comfortably, 66-59. Their exit proved premature, though; it was cardiac time in the last 90 seconds.

After Crusader guard Brian Reale missed a free throw, Harvard exploded for a fast break when sophomore guard Pat Smith found senior Ken Plutnicki (20 points) under the boards for the easy lay-up. Then, with only 1:20 to go, Crimson guard Bob Ferry intercepted a pass from Westbrook and dished off an assist to Plutnicki, who again was standing under the net.

With 1:10 to go, Harvard guard Arne Duncan grabbed an in-bounds pass from Reale, Duncan flipped the ball to Carrabino, who was fouled, and made two clutch free throws to shrink the Crusader lead to only one point 66-65.

Perhaps what saved the game for the Cross was an outstanding effort by Reale, who stopped a way ward Crusader pass from flying into the stands. Desperately, Reale lofted the ball into the congested lane. Amidst the confusion. Harvard--already over the foul limit--tagged Elzie, who sank his two free throws to put Holy Cross up, 68-65.

With 46 seconds left, Harvard mustered up another effort. After a hurried air ball by Ferry, Plutnicki snared the rebound to convert it for two. But Harvard's luck finally seemed to have run out when Reale and Elzie both made good on their consecutive stints at the free throw line: 24 seconds to go, 72-67.

Again, Harvard refused to die, as Ferry sank four straight freebies from the line Ferry's second turn resulted when Harvard's tenacious defense forced a five-second violation, as Crusaders were unable to connect to the in-bounds pass. Westbrook fouled Ferry on the following play.

But the Crimson's resurgence finally proved too good to be true. With only nine seconds left, Holy Cross out smarted the Harvard press, and Reale drew a foul and made good on his trip to the line. Then, to put the lid on the game, Ferry picked up an offensive foul and Darren Maloney canned another two free throws to put the Crusaders up by five.