Magnarelli’s presence was felt immediately on both ends of the floor, but he had to shake off some remnants of rust.

Less than 15 seconds after substituting into the game, the big man grabbed an offensive rebound of a Lin miss, but the put-back bounced off the back rim.

“It’s been about five weeks,” Magnarelli said. “The game is a little faster than I remember it.”

After a fast-break layup from sophomore Keith Wright on the following possession, Magnarelli managed to get his feet set and drew a charge on Brown’s Matt Sullivan.

Though the oft-injured forward’s next two attempts from close range wouldn’t fall, he made them when it counted.

After a three by Garrett Leffelman cut Harvard’s lead to 14 with 6:32 to play in the game, it was Magnarelli who converted a layup in transition to respond. He had also slipped behind the defense for a satisfying two-handed flush earlier in the frame.

Wright, playing in only his third game since a bout with Achilles tendonitis, was also an effective reserve in similarly limited action. The front-court mainstay collected 10 points, a game-high six rebounds, and three assists in only 18 minutes.

Whether converting points in the paint or passing it out to shooters, the back-up big men compensated for starters Casey and co-captain Doug Miller, who both ran into foul trouble and combined for just eight points and two rebounds against the relentless Brown frontcourt.

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