Men Cagers Want Good Judges' Verdict

A basketball team must do two things to have a successful season. In addition to winning some of the games it's not supposed to win, a successful squad should never lose to an inferior opponent.

So far, the Harvard basketball team has been pretty successful. Although the Crimson (3-2) has yet to upset a really good team, it has not been upset by a bad one, either.

The three Crimson victims--Tennessee Tech, UNH, and Vermont--all should have been Harvard wins, while both losses--to St. John's and Boston College--were at the hands of teams that the Crimson wasn't supposed to beat.

Tomorrow at 2:00 p.m., the cagers will try to keep beating teams it should beat, as Brandeis storms into Briggs Cage. Last year, Harvard executed the Judges, 79-63, but Brandeis (4-3) has improved greatly over the summer.

The Chief Justice is senior Derek Oliver, who is averaging 19 points and pulling in 10 rebounds per game. Against Curry on Wednesday, the center pumped in a career-high 32 points.

Senior Rob Toomey also produces some offense for Brandeis. The guard, whose excellent outside shooting makes him a three-point threat, is averaging 11.1 p.p.g. this year.

The Judges will be missing the services of one of their best players, Stanley House, who is out with a knee injury. The three-year captain and point guard was averaging 16.2 p.p.g. before the injury.

Against the Crimson, House will be replaced by freshman Mark Peabody. Coming off the bench for most of the young season, Peabody is averaging 8.4 p.p.g., and provides another threepoint threat in the Brandeis attack.

Harvard will pressure the Judges, especially with Peabody, a rookie, handling the ball. The Harvard pressure, which limited UNH and Vermont to fewer than 150 points in two games this week, should be enough to hold back the Brandeis attack, as long as the cagers remain consistent.

"We have to pressure them like they are Duke," Harvard Tri-Captain Mike Gielen said. "We have to jump on them right from the start."

On offense, Gielen leads the Crimson attack. The junior point guard is averaging 16.3 points and 6.3 assists per game, this year.

The Harvard center combination of Tri-Captain Bill Mohler and sophomore Malcolm Hollensteiner has also been surprisingly effective on the offensive end. The two have combined for 13 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

By all measures, the Judges are a team that Harvard should beat. But the games that you are supposed to win are sometimes the toughest games of the year.

"It's one of our biggest concerns that we'll look past them, and we won't use this game to get better," Gielen said.

It would be very easy for the Crimson to look past the Judges toward the rest of the schedule. Later this week, Harvard flies out to California to face Stanford on Friday. The squad then returns to the East Coast to take on Duke, Monday, in Durham, N.C.

The Cardinal and the Blue Devils will be among the toughest teams that the Crimson will play all year. With the long plane flights to faraway lands coming up, one might think that Harvard would be a bit distracted against the Judges. At least until one talks with Harvard Coach Pete Roby.

"I'm not looking past this game," Roby said. "I'm going to make sure my players know they're not going to look past it either."

If the Crimson concentrates on Brandeis, it can surely beat the Judges, and improve its record to 4-2. If the squad plays half-heartedly, Brandeis might just surprise them.

And a loss to Brandeis isn't supposed to happen in a successful season.