When his team fell behind, Lin stepped up. Finding little success from long range, the star guard drove to the basket and drew opportunities at the foul line.

His playmaking ability helped to spark a 15-1 Harvard run, which helped extend the team’s lead to 13 with just under seven minutes to play.

But the Crimson could not put the game out of reach, as missed free throws down the stretch would allow Dartmouth the chance to attempt a comeback.

As a team, Harvard shot only 39 percent from the field, and the situation was no better at the free throw line, where the Crimson shot an uncharacteristically poor 14-of-26.

Freshmen Christian Webster and Dee Giger continued to have difficulty finding their strokes. The guards missed all eight of their combined three-point attempts, and Webster made only two of his 12 tries from the floor.

“They’re freshmen, and I think sometimes they need to see the ball go in the basket before they can get a little more confidence,” Amaker said of his rookies’ first conference road game. “Sometimes being away from home, it’s a much tougher situation than they would probably expect.”

With its shooters having an off night, the Crimson turned to its big men for baskets—primarily Casey and Wright, who finished with 13 points (6-of-9 from the field) and eight rebounds.

Fellow post player and co-captain Doug Miller had a strong workmanlike performance, picking up seven boards—including five offensive rebounds—in only 15 minutes.

A scary moment came early in the second half, when forward Pat Magnarelli leapt for an offensive rebound and fell hard to the floor. The senior had to be helped off the court by two teammates.

Following the game, Magnarelli called the injury a high ankle sprain and said he would receive an X-ray yesterday.

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