Big Red center and primary down-low threat Jeff Foote was held to only two points in the second half. Although Harvard’s focus on Foote clearly affected its efforts against the long ball, the Crimson did outscore Cornell in the paint, 30-22. The previous time the two teams squared off last month the Big Red dominated the paint, generating 32 points relative to Harvard’s 14.
With senior Pat Magnarelli and sophomore Andrew Van Nest unable to suit up at forward, one of the Crimson’s touted freshmen was forced to step up on Friday night. Last time out against Cornell, rookie Kyle Casey–coming off the bench at the time–shot 1-of-4 from the field and tallied only six points.
This week the 6’7” forward came up big for the Crimson, contributing two steals and leading all Harvard players with six rebounds. On defense, Casey executed clean blocks to rob Cornell of easy transition points—as well as momentum—in the first half. The freshman also redoubled his efforts on offense and witnessed success drawing fouls while driving to the post. Although Casey shot just 2-of-6 from the field Friday night, he did his job at the charity stripe to rack up 14 points overall.
FREE FOR ALL
Whereas Cornell inflicted the most damage from the three-point line, Harvard’s offensive front emphasized getting to the free-throw line and making consistent shots.
“We did a sensational job of getting to the foul line–using that as a weapon to stay in the game and stay within striking distance,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said.
The Crimson sunk 32-of-34 free throws and was successful in all of its attempts throughout the second half. The Big Red gained only a third as many shots and converted at a 78.6 percent clip.
Casey and Lin both shot 10-of-11 from the free-throw line, while all other Crimson players were perfect in their attempts.
“A lot of things went wrong,” Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. “I’ve never been on the winning side of a game where a team shoots 32-of-34 from the foul line.”
—Staff writer Emmett Kistler can be reached at ekistler@fas.harvard.edu.