NOTEBOOK: Long-Range Effort Sparks Offense

While the Harvard men’s basketball team has excelled this season at reaching the free throw line and converting opportunities there—its accuracy of 77.1 percent at the charity stripe is good for third in the nation—the Crimson still has a ways to go when shooting from long range.

Harvard’s 33.6 three-point percentage places it at a middling 195th out of 347 Division I teams.

But Friday night against Brown, the statistics were inexplicably reversed.

Though Harvard only got to the line 12 times and missed five of those tries, the home squad’s marksmen found their stroke from farther out.

The Crimson went a blistering 12-for-19 from three-point range, led by freshman Brandyn Curry and sophomore Oliver McNally, who each drained four triples. The backcourt sharpshooters were joined by rookie wing Christian Webster, who added three treys of his own.

“Luckily, we made shots,” McNally said. “Just like the Columbia game, we were taking a lot of shots in rhythm, so usually those are the ones that will go in.”

Webster opened up the three-point barrage at 12:05 in the first half, spotting up on the fast break. Curry’s attempt would rim out two minutes later, but Harvard would not miss from three for the rest of the frame.

A pair of right-wing treys by McNally were critical in limiting Brown’s lead midway through the half. After a 10-2 run helped the Crimson jump out to a 35-27 lead with four minutes left, it was Curry’s time to shine.

After co-captain Jeremy Lin missed a free throw, the rebound found its way to Curry for a smooth triple. Several possessions later, Webster threw a long pass to Curry on the left wing for another three, which put the Crimson up by 14—its largest lead up to that point.

Even big man Kyle Casey got into the act. Trailing in transition, the freshman hit a straight-on triple as time expired, giving Harvard a 54-33 advantage at the break.

Overall the Crimson made 10 of its first 13 three-point attempts and five crucial treys in the second half—including a Curry three to end a 10-0 spurt by the Bears early in the frame.

BIG IMPROVEMENT

Friday night saw the return of senior forward Pat Magnarelli, who had not played since sustaining a high ankle sprain at Dartmouth in late January.

His contributions in 17 minutes off the bench—eight points, two rebounds, and two assists—drew a warm welcome from his squad, which had been sorely lacking experience in the paint since he went down.

“It drives me crazy just to see what we haven’t had,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “It doesn’t look like he’s missed a beat [or] much of anything, other than being a little winded…his feel, his savvy, and his instincts go a long way with our team.”

Magnarelli’s presence was felt immediately on both ends of the floor, but he had to shake off some remnants of rust.

Less than 15 seconds after substituting into the game, the big man grabbed an offensive rebound of a Lin miss, but the put-back bounced off the back rim.

“It’s been about five weeks,” Magnarelli said. “The game is a little faster than I remember it.”

After a fast-break layup from sophomore Keith Wright on the following possession, Magnarelli managed to get his feet set and drew a charge on Brown’s Matt Sullivan.

Though the oft-injured forward’s next two attempts from close range wouldn’t fall, he made them when it counted.

After a three by Garrett Leffelman cut Harvard’s lead to 14 with 6:32 to play in the game, it was Magnarelli who converted a layup in transition to respond. He had also slipped behind the defense for a satisfying two-handed flush earlier in the frame.

Wright, playing in only his third game since a bout with Achilles tendonitis, was also an effective reserve in similarly limited action. The front-court mainstay collected 10 points, a game-high six rebounds, and three assists in only 18 minutes.

Whether converting points in the paint or passing it out to shooters, the back-up big men compensated for starters Casey and co-captain Doug Miller, who both ran into foul trouble and combined for just eight points and two rebounds against the relentless Brown frontcourt.

—Staff writer Dennis J. Zheng can be reached at dzheng12@college.harvard.edu.