For a Division-II team, Sacred Heart gave the Harvard men's basketball team a few more problems than it expected on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

The Crimson (3-2, 0-0 Ivy) was often flustered and out of synch on offense, but atoned by stuffing the weak-shooting Pioneers (1-5, 0-0 New England Collegiate), holding Sacred Heart to 36.2 percent shooting from the field and getting double figures from four seniors en route to a 79-64 win at Lavietes Pavilion.

"This was a dangerous game for us in that it was an afternoon game against a team with a lot of streak shooters," said senior point guard Tim Hill. "We weren't smooth and we never really found an offensive rhythm, but our defense did a good job, and that made up for the lack of smoothness."

Wild Bill

With the state of the NBA being what it is, about the only Ewing doing much of anything on the hardwood these days is Harvard senior forward Bill Ewing.

Just two games after tying the school mark of Bill Mohler '88 for blocks in a game with five against Holy Cross, Ewing continued to establish himself as a dominant post presence with a record-breaking six rejections in only 19 minutes. His time was cut short by foul trouble as he collected his fifth personal while clearing out on offense with 6:33 remaining.

As has become typical of Ewing, the senior swatted two Pioneer attempts in the first period halfway back to the Cambridge side of the Charles, rejecting guard Andrew Hunter on a three-pointer from the left wing and guard Shawn Jones on a drive into the key.

"I like to put the first couple in the stands," Ewing said. "Just to do something big, to send the other team a message that they'll have no luck in the lane today."

Ewing also materialized as a low-post offensive threat, making 5-of-8 shots for 10 points and pulling down eight rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. Ewing's point total was his highest since he scored 12 against Princeton last February at Lavietes.

Ewing displayed improved footwork in the post and for the first time provided a viable second option to senior captain Paul Fisher in the paint.

After Fisher enjoyed an effective first half, hitting 3-of-3 for eight points, Ewing helped pick up his slack in the second, converting on four attempts from the key for eight of the Crimson's first 13 points of the frame. The pair finished with a combined 20 on 9-of-16 shooting.

"Bill provided a real spark off the bench," said Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan. "His shot-blocking was a significant factor on defense and with the size advantage he had offensively, we felt confident giving him the ball."

Raise the Roof, Beam

Senior shooting guard Mike Beam upped his 9.8 points-per-game average with a career-high 22, hitting a crisp 6-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range.

Beam was able to bounce back from a disappointing 3-of-11 shooting effort at Marist on Tuesday.