While the Harvard men’s basketball team has excelled this season at reaching the free throw line and converting opportunities there—its accuracy of 77.1 percent at the charity stripe is good for third in the nation—the Crimson still has a ways to go when shooting from long range.

Harvard’s 33.6 three-point percentage places it at a middling 195th out of 347 Division I teams.

But Friday night against Brown, the statistics were inexplicably reversed.

Though Harvard only got to the line 12 times and missed five of those tries, the home squad’s marksmen found their stroke from farther out.

The Crimson went a blistering 12-for-19 from three-point range, led by freshman Brandyn Curry and sophomore Oliver McNally, who each drained four triples. The backcourt sharpshooters were joined by rookie wing Christian Webster, who added three treys of his own.

“Luckily, we made shots,” McNally said. “Just like the Columbia game, we were taking a lot of shots in rhythm, so usually those are the ones that will go in.”

Webster opened up the three-point barrage at 12:05 in the first half, spotting up on the fast break. Curry’s attempt would rim out two minutes later, but Harvard would not miss from three for the rest of the frame.

A pair of right-wing treys by McNally were critical in limiting Brown’s lead midway through the half. After a 10-2 run helped the Crimson jump out to a 35-27 lead with four minutes left, it was Curry’s time to shine.

After co-captain Jeremy Lin missed a free throw, the rebound found its way to Curry for a smooth triple. Several possessions later, Webster threw a long pass to Curry on the left wing for another three, which put the Crimson up by 14—its largest lead up to that point.

Even big man Kyle Casey got into the act. Trailing in transition, the freshman hit a straight-on triple as time expired, giving Harvard a 54-33 advantage at the break.

Overall the Crimson made 10 of its first 13 three-point attempts and five crucial treys in the second half—including a Curry three to end a 10-0 spurt by the Bears early in the frame.

BIG IMPROVEMENT

Friday night saw the return of senior forward Pat Magnarelli, who had not played since sustaining a high ankle sprain at Dartmouth in late January.

His contributions in 17 minutes off the bench—eight points, two rebounds, and two assists—drew a warm welcome from his squad, which had been sorely lacking experience in the paint since he went down.

“It drives me crazy just to see what we haven’t had,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “It doesn’t look like he’s missed a beat [or] much of anything, other than being a little winded…his feel, his savvy, and his instincts go a long way with our team.”