Crimson Five to Stifle Lackluster Holy Cross

It's possible that 3000 people will attend the Harvard-Holy Cross basketball game in Worcester tonight but most of them may leave before the varsity game begins. For the Crusader-Crimson freshman game should be one of the high points of both schools' basketball season.

The Holy Cross freshman have a great center in 6-9 Ron Texeira, one of the most talked about schoolboy basketball stars in Massachusetts history. Their 6-7 forward Ed Siudup can pump in jump shots from 30 feet out, and their entire starting five is outstanding. But the Yardlings might beat them; Coach George Harrington's squad is just as big as the Crusaders and a lot deeper.

The varsity game at 8:30 p.m. should be quite a letdown, but it might be a happy occasion for Harvard fans. Holy Cross was hit hard by graduation losses, and with some good shooting the Crimson might even score a runaway victory.

Holy Cross doesn't have enough height to murder Harvard under the boards. Their center is 6-5 John Sullivan, a good rebounder who averaged a big 2.9 points per game last season. The forwards are Richie Murphy and Greg Hochstein, both 6-4, who averaged 12.3 and 9.5 respectively last year. Ralph Willard (6-3) and sophomore Jimmy O'Brien, most valuable player in the Massachusetts Catholic Tournament two years ago, looks like a very good prospect.

The Crusaders had a 13-10 record last season, tonight's game is their opener this year. In the series between the two schools, Holy Cross has won 18 of 25 contests; Harvard has not beaten them since 1930.

Coach Floyd Wilson will probably start Barry Williams, John Scott, Keith Sedlacek, Gebe Dressler and George Neville, with sophomore guard Bob Beller seeing a lot of action. All the Crimson needs is good shooting from Sedlacek and Dressler to score a victory.