The containment on Draughan, however, allowed Yale guard Eric Flato to find some open looks. The 6’1 freshman capitalized, hitting 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-7 from behind the arc, to match Draughan as the game’s high scorer with 13 points.

Junior center Brian Cusworth and Stehle should have their hands full with Bulldogs center Dominick Martin. Over his last four games, Martin is averaging 12.5 points and six rebounds per contest, including a 12-point, nine-board performance against the Crimson.

While Martin will pose a formidable challenge tonight, Cusworth and Stehle should have a much easier time tomorrow night against a smaller, inexperienced Brown frontcourt. In the first meeting with the Bears two weeks ago, the two Harvard big men combined for 32 points and 25 rebounds as the Crimson pulled away from Brown for a 64-53 win.

“With the exception of [Bears forward Luke] Ruscoe, they’re pretty young inside,” Stehle said. “We felt that we could go at their guys, but obviously their coach will be getting them ready telling them that they need to do a better job.”

The Bears do boast an explosive backcourt, led by reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Jason Forte. Forte, who leads the league in scoring, was held to just 10 points in the two teams’ first meeting, due to Norman’s stifling defense. Forte remains one of the most explosive players in the league, as his 36-point performance at Cornell would attest, so keeping him under wraps will be the number one priority for the Crimson.

“I’m sure he’s going to come in fired up,” Norman said. “He’s played some great games in this gym, and it’s our focus to shut him down.”

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.