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.