Penn Rallies to Beat Harvard, 86-75

Paced by 20-point performances by Phil Hankinson, Ron Haigler and John Beecroft, Ivy champion Pennsylvania broke open a tight game midway through the second half to upend the Crimson cagers, 86-75, at the Palestra last night.

James Brown (18 points) and Floyd Lewis (14 points) led Harvard scoring in the loss that dropped the Crimson's Ivy mark to 7-6 and its overall record to a disappointing 14-11. The victory boosted the Quaker's Ivy record to a league-leading 11-2.

Harvard and Penn played a tight first half that ended with the Quakers, on the hot shooting of Hankinson (24 points) Haigler (21 points) and Beecroft (20 points) holding a 46-41 lead. In the first half, Penn tickled the twine at a blistering 60-per cent rate, hitting on 18 of 30 from the field.

Offensive Bombardments

Harvard held a slight rebounding edge but the Crimson had more opportunities for caroms, especially on the offensive boards, because Harvard let fly 44 bombardments. The Crimson cashed in on 17 of those for a 38.6 per cent shooting percentage.

Harvard closed the gap fast in the second half and at 14:59 of the second stanza a jumper by Crimson guard Jim Fitzsimmons put coach Bob Harrison's squad ahead, 53-52.

A tap-in by Hankinson and a charity toss by Haigler put the Quakers back on top, 55-53, but a turn-around jump shot by Tony Jenkins at 13:36 knotted the game up for Harvard.

Beecroft and Ken Wolfe then exchanged baskets, on a 20-footer and a fast break lay-up, respectively. But Beecroft came back to hit for a three-point play which gave Penn a 60-57 margin and sent the Quakers on their way, leading for good.

Coach Chuck Daley's team, which beat the Crimson in Cambridge earlier this season, 66-61, trucked out to a 67-59 lead, and after a slight evaporation to 69-65, the Quakers shifted gears again and ran off eight straight points to put themselves permanently in the driver's seat, 77-65.

After James Brown fouled out with 5:13 remaining, the Crimson still was able to stay close but could not cut deeply into the Penn margin. Brown led all rebounders for the game, pulling in 13 caroms, while Hankinson and Haigler hit the glass for 12 each.

Penn closed out the night with an impressive 54.1 shooting percentage, compared to the Crimson's mediocre 37.8 effort from the field.