“I thought Kyle played incredibly well for us,” Crimson coach Tommy Amaker said. “Kyle has just been coming on, as we’ve seen for a while now, with how well he’s been able to play and knock down shots and get big defensive rebounds.”
While Casey contributed throughout his 30 minutes of play, his biggest shot came with time expiring in the first half and the Crimson up by a single point.
Co-captain Jeremy Lin controlled the ball at the top of the key as the seconds ticked off the clock and then made a move toward the basket. When the defense shifted its focus to Lin, the playmaker skipped a pass to Casey, who was set up for the three along the left wing.
As the buzzer sounded, Casey’s shot sailed through the net, giving Harvard a four-point lead heading into the break.
Casey showed off his athleticism in the second half, thundering home an alley-oop thrown from sophomore point guard Oliver McNally.
“I didn’t think Oliver was going to throw it,” Casey said. “He just zipped it in there so I jumped. I was pretty pumped afterward.”
FINISHING PROBLEMS
Sporting a 10-point lead with just 1:21 remaining, the Crimson appeared ready to start warming up the bus back to Cambridge.
But two Dartmouth three-pointers and four Harvard missed free throws allowed the Big Green to make the finish too close for comfort for the Crimson.
Dartmouth’s Ronnie Dixon got things started for the home team, knocking down a three-pointer to cut Harvard’s lead to seven. The Crimson’s free-throw woes kept them from putting the game away.
Wright and McNally each went 1-of-2 from the stripe in the final minute, while Lin went 2-of-4 and the Crimson escaped with just the four-point victory.
Harvard’s shooting woes down the stretch underscored a poor shooting performance throughout the night. The Crimson shot 14-of-26 from the stripe—53.8 percent—and 2-of-17 from deep.
“It was a really tough shooting day for us from an offensive standpoint,” Amaker said. “I don’t know what you’d call it.”
—Staff writer Martin Kessler can be reached at martin.kessler@college.harvard.edu.