The Harvard Classics went through more than the usual warmups before their basketball game last night with the inmates of the Walpole maximum security prison.

The team filed through a metal detector, paged through considerable paper-work, and stood through a preliminary talk given by a prison official.

"I don't want to scare you," said Karin Saunders, a prison official, "but do pay attention to what's going on around you at all times."

With the words of warning, the Harvard basketball club took the floor amidst armed policemen, TV crews, and a crowd of convicts in a gym sealed shut with iron bars.

In a physical, aggressive game, the Classics, a team of Harvard undergraduates in uniforms of blue and gold, defeated a team of inmates clad in cutoffs and torn yellow mesh jerseys, 124-91.

But to both teams, the meaning of the game reached far beyond the score, perhaps because two more diverse groups of athletes have rarely been brought together.

"The dichotomy between the average Harvard man and the prison inmate is considerable. It's a long way from where these men are from to Harvard," Saunders said last night.

"What makes this so interesting," Classics player-coach Dave Wanger said, "is the huge difference between us. They're behind bars and we're not. Even when we're out there playing together, it's hard to forget that we're going to leave tonight and they aren't going to."

Interestingly enough, the inmates seemed to harbor little resentment against the Harvard boys.

"We had a great time out here tonight. I just hope the score's a little different next time. I'm really looking forward to the next game," said inmate John Rose.

One Opponent

Walpole Assistant Coach William Anthony, who has been in the prison for 17 years, said yesterday that the Classics were the only team willing to play his Varsity team, which was selected from over 75 hopefuls. Walpole also has an extensive intramural program because of the enthusiasm for basketball among the prisoners.

"When I play, I'm getting rid of all my frustration. I need to run and get all my animosity out," said Ernest Green

Although Saunders said that "every crime you can think of is probably on the court right now," the game was not marred by excessively violent play.

"There was a lot of friendly give and take out there between all the players," Wanger said. He added that the Classics had been a bit apprehensive about playing a physical game with the inmates, but that this feeling had disappeared by the contest's conclusion.