Cagers Fall in Home Opener

As if losing the Kennedy Library wasn't bad enough, Harvard ended up on the wrong side of the score for the second time in as many weeks to UMass as the cagers dropped their home opener, 99-87.

The Minutemen hardly found victory as time consuming as their Columbia Point counterparts had last week. A pair of Mikes, senior guard Stokes and sophomore forward Pyatt, led an awesome Minutemen shooting display which made the Crimson's task as easy as finding a reserve book on the third floor of Lamont.

For the Heck of it

Pyatt shot a cool 8-10 from the floor in the first half, added a foul shot for the heck of it, and walked off the court at the half with his team in front by a comfortable 47-36 margin.

In the second half, he handed his shooting touch to Pyatt, who proceeded to reel off 20 points via a 7-10 field-goal performance and six successful foul shots without a miscue. Stokes ended up as the game's leading scorer with 28 points, while Pyatt finished with 23.

As for the Crimson, captain Bill Carey's combination of side jumpers and driving lay-ups netted him 26 points (62 for the season in three games), while Brian Banks accounted for Harvard's only three free throws, threw in 11 baskets from 11 different places in the key, and closed with 25 important points.

Unfortunately for the Crimson, though, neither Carey nor Banks was particularly effective during the one critical stretch of the game, the first eight minutes or so, when UMass assumed a double-digit lead which it held steadily until the final buzzer.

The Minutemen were simply unable to miss during the opening phase of the game, and with Harvard having trouble setting up its offense and a trifle slow in getting back on defense, the UMass fluid attack quickly asserted itself.

Pyatt and Stokes were joined in the scoring by Mark Donoghue and Steve Mayfield (six points apiece in the first half), and, when you throw in the efforts of Alex Eldridge and Jim Town, you understand why UMass is again favored to win the Yankee Conference this year.

To the Crimson's credit, however, the cagers, as might have been the case in past years, refused to quit, and showed occassional signs of resurgence as the contest wore on.

With Joe Leondis (seven assists) directing the attack and Carey and Banks pulling down the rebounds, Harvard cut the lead to seven at one point late in the second half with the Crimson in possession of the ball. But a missed Carey jumper returned the favor to the Minutemen, and Harvard's slim chances for a comeback became obsolete, as UMass was making few mistakes in maintaining a healthy lead.

Charity

While the Crimson was obviously outmanned talent-wise, its cause was hardly helped by UMass's foul-shooting performance. The Minutemen went to the charity stripe 17 times, and made all 17 shots, as compared to Harvard's meager 37 effort.

Also costly was the team's inability to get untracked offensively in the opening moments, and, needless to say, UMass' refusal to miss.

There obviously is room for improvement, and the ability to do so, but don't expect it to happen in the cagers' next contest on Saturday night against the Boston College Giants, er, Eagles.