The 2580 in the stands kept wondering: how long could Harvard continue to keep its head above water? When would Duke arrest its tantalizing game of cat and mouse and finally open up the trap into which the Crimson was inevitably supposed to fall?

But Harvard evaded the Blue Devils' trap, and the prey proved almost as shrewd as the hunter--perhaps even shrewder, considering the dominating talent of the Duke cagers.

The Harvard men's basketball team bowed to Duke last night, 89-86, at Briggs Athletic Center in a contest that is best described as nothing less than a glorious defeat.

With 6:13 remaining in the game, Harvard-aided by forward Joe Carrabino's left beseline 15-ft, jumper and a Bob Ferry layup-managed to bounce back from a six-point deficit to tie the score at 78.

But When the Crimson found itself down by only two with 5:04 to go, Duke proceeded to take away any possible Harvard momentum by calling for a slowdown, during which the Blue Devils passed the ball around the perimeter for close to four minutes.

In desperation, at 1:26. Harvard's Ame Duncan fouled Duke's Mark Alarie. Alarie missed the opportunity to put his team on top by four unfortunately, during the Crimson's subsequent possession, Carrabino-who had a team-high 30 points on the evening-failed to connect with his top-of-the-key jumper.

Again, Duke threatened to initiate another slowdown, and Harvard found itself forced to grab David Henderson. Henderson dumped in his two free throws, putting the Blue Devils up by four with only 46 on the clock.

With those extra two points, the Crimson-because of Duke's consistency at the line down the stretch-found itself unable to nab the visitors. The remainder of the game saw the teams trading either free throws or layups.

On Top

Harvard never trailed by more than six points, and for much of the first half it led the contest. With 5:10 remaining in the first half, the Crimson catapulted itself to an eight-point advantage. What proved to be Harvard's eventual downfall was a 16-2 Duke scoring burst at the end of the first half.

Enen then, the Crimson forgot which team was supposed to win, and refused to roll over and submit to Duke's intimidating pressure. At the end of the game's first 20 minutes, Harvard exited the floor encouraged by Ferry's two free throws the junior guard had 20 points on the night and Carrabino's 22-foot rainbow, which cut the Blue Devil's halftime lead to two, 45-43.

"We kept moving. We never stopped," Harvard Coach Frank McLaughlin said after the game. "The only thing that hurt us was that one spurt at the end of the half."

While Harvard's mental lapse during Duke's first-half surge minimized its chances of winning. Duke can than a hero by the name of Johnny Dawkins for the victory. Dawkins pumped in 33 points, almost all of them coming from the perimeter with 18 to 22-ft. bombs.

McLaughlin said the Crimson's game plan was to force Duke to shoot from the outside, and he stressed that during the past few contests, Dawkins and his teammates had not been reliable from long range, relying instead on inside power.

"Everything we did, we planned to do," Carrabino said.