In the Harvard men’s basketball team’s 77-51 victory over Bryant on Friday, the 26-point margin of victory masked the Crimson’s lackluster first-half performance. With less than four minutes to go before intermission, Harvard held just a 26-24 lead over its winless opponent.

“We anticipated that they would give us a battle,” Crimson coach Tommy Amaker said. “We knew that they had played some tough competition...and they were better than the 0-3 record.”

The most obvious problem was Harvard’s repeated difficulty in completing scoring opportunities.

“We didn’t finish as well as we wanted to in the first half,” Amaker said. “We left a number of buckets where we just didn’t finish.”

Short shots by big man Keith Wright and co-captain guard Jeremy Lin rattled around the rim but simply refused to drop. Fellow post presences—freshman Kyle Casey and co-captain Doug Miller—also struggled down low, combining for only two points in the first half.

Standing at an imposing 6’9, Bryant sophomore center Papa Lo undoubtedly altered some shot attempts, and the Bulldogs’ overall physical style of play helped them stay in the contest.

“I thought their kids were out-scrapping us a little bit for loose balls,” Amaker said.

The Crimson would quickly turn things around. Following a late first-half timeout, Harvard closed out the frame strongly, going on a 9-3 run.

The momentum carried over into the game’s final 20 minutes, when the Crimson finally found its edge, shooting a stellar 53 percent from the field.

POWER IN THE PAINT

The number of the night was 40—as in the number of points Harvard collected in the paint. The Crimson only scored 30 interior points in last week’s home opener against William & Mary, despite having three extra overtime periods of play.

“I thought in the second half, we attacked the rim better,” Amaker said. “It makes a big difference when we get chances to finish with layups or dunks.”

Much of the increased production has been a direct result of the play of senior Pat Magnarelli. Since his return from a knee injury that cost him his last two seasons, the forward has been an interior anchor for Harvard.

“It drives you crazy because you see what we’ve missed for two years,” Amaker said. “He’s such a steady, calming force out there on the floor for our team.”

Magnarelli collected 11 points—including a thunderous two-handed dunk over a Bulldog defender—and four rebounds in only 17 minutes off the bench, but he was just one component of a concerted team effort to go inside.