NOTEBOOK: Big Red's Three-Pointers Sink Crimson

Facing Cornell at home on Friday night, Harvard (17-6, 6-3 Ivy) was forced to pick its poison.

Focus on challenging the appropriately-named Big Red (22-4, 8-1) in the paint or attempt to shut down a three-point offense ranked fifth in the nation.

In the end, it was the dominant long-range shooting of Cornell’s Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman that defined the game and denied Harvard the upset.

Overall, the Big Red shot for 52.2 percent from long range on 12-of-25 attempts.

Wittman, seemingly able to sink a shot from anywhere on the court, contributed six treys on the night. The senior demonstrated the value of experience late in the game when he stepped up and stymied Harvard’s 12-0 run by responding to freshman Christian Webster’s momentous three with one of his own. Wittman led all players with 27 points on the night.

“In transition, he’s always running the floor,” Dale said. “When I’m dribbling coming up, I’m always looking for him. I know he’s going to have his feet set and he’s going to be ready...you can’t give him much space, and I think that’s what makes him so great. He’s got a quick release, and he’ll knock it down.”

To add to the Crimson’s woes, another long-range threat emerged after the first 20 minutes. Following a relatively docile first half, former Ivy League Player of the Year Dale rediscovered his stroke in the second half and drained three consecutive three-pointers in under two minutes to build up a substantial lead for the Big Red.

“We’re a good three-point shooting team,” Wittman said. “That’s something that we do well…that’s not necessary something we rely on, it’s just something that was really going today.”

Dale struck again later on, succeeding just seconds after Harvard co-captain Jeremy Lin failed to find the bottom of the net.

Harvard had difficulty shooting threes all night—its first successful long-range shot came with 11:30 to go in the second, as Curry broke the frustrating streak to reduce the Crimson’s deficit to 61-47 and score his first points of the game.

The Crimson shot just 2-of-10 overall from beyond the arc.

BIG DEFICIT

Harvard’s big men also encountered big difficulties on Friday night. Forced to take on a larger workload in the wake of injuries, the upperclassman forwards could not keep pace with the Big Red.

Sophomore Keith Wright and co-captain Doug Miller combined for only five boards while committing five turnovers.

On a positive note for the Crimson, Harvard did keep Cornell’s post game under control.

Big Red center and primary down-low threat Jeff Foote was held to only two points in the second half. Although Harvard’s focus on Foote clearly affected its efforts against the long ball, the Crimson did outscore Cornell in the paint, 30-22. The previous time the two teams squared off last month the Big Red dominated the paint, generating 32 points relative to Harvard’s 14.

With senior Pat Magnarelli and sophomore Andrew Van Nest unable to suit up at forward, one of the Crimson’s touted freshmen was forced to step up on Friday night. Last time out against Cornell, rookie Kyle Casey–coming off the bench at the time–shot 1-of-4 from the field and tallied only six points.

This week the 6’7” forward came up big for the Crimson, contributing two steals and leading all Harvard players with six rebounds. On defense, Casey executed clean blocks to rob Cornell of easy transition points—as well as momentum—in the first half. The freshman also redoubled his efforts on offense and witnessed success drawing fouls while driving to the post. Although Casey shot just 2-of-6 from the field Friday night, he did his job at the charity stripe to rack up 14 points overall.

FREE FOR ALL

Whereas Cornell inflicted the most damage from the three-point line, Harvard’s offensive front emphasized getting to the free-throw line and making consistent shots.

“We did a sensational job of getting to the foul line–using that as a weapon to stay in the game and stay within striking distance,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said.

The Crimson sunk 32-of-34 free throws and was successful in all of its attempts throughout the second half. The Big Red gained only a third as many shots and converted at a 78.6 percent clip.

Casey and Lin both shot 10-of-11 from the free-throw line, while all other Crimson players were perfect in their attempts.

“A lot of things went wrong,” Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. “I’ve never been on the winning side of a game where a team shoots 32-of-34 from the foul line.”

—Staff writer Emmett Kistler can be reached at ekistler@fas.harvard.edu.