Category: Princeton

Hurt so much they did it twice

Game #8-795: Princeton Tigers at Columbia Lions

January 14, 2012 7:00 pm
Levien Gym
BBState Stats/Recap

Columbia came into the opening Ivy League weekend full of promise. The Lions looked like a strong defensive team as they worked their way to a solid 11-5 record in non-conference play. Kyle Smith’s team also had a nice advantage too, a home set to start the 14-game tournament against two teams they’d have to be competitive with in order to move into the middle tier of the league, Penn and Princeton.

Friday night came and the gym was packed for the Quakers’ appearance. The Lions battled hard, but Zack Rosen’s play making down the stretch proved to be too much for the Lions to handle. The Penn senior made the key plays in the final moments and the Quakers pulled out a 66-64 victory.

Luckily Columbia had another chance just 24 hours later. Princeton would be in town. This was a big game. The Tigers also lost in their opener the night before, to Cornell. Then Princeton had to get on a bus and drive the four hours down I-81 and I-80 to New York City. It’s the longest back-to-back swing in the league. Both teams were going to have some tired legs.

“We’re going to stay right here and review them,” said Lions’ point guard Brian Barbour on Friday night. “There’s no rest for the weary. You just have to get right back at it.”

It played out that way too. The shooters didn’t seem to be affected, but it was a slow-down drag out type of game. But with 11 minutes remaining the Lions pulled out to their largest lead of the game, 41-35 on a three by Barbour (who was on his way to his second 25-point performance in as many nights). Then at that moment Columbia seemed to hit a wall. The Lions went the next 10 minutes without scoring from the field.

By the time Columbia had recovered, the Lions were down 54-46 with 1:24 to play. They’d been here before. The night before against Penn a frantic rally had fallen just short. Maybe this time the Lions could use the lessons they’d learned

It started out looking good. Columbia drew within two points multiple times down the stretch, but once again they couldn’t get over the hump. Princeton knocked down its free throws and finished off the win.

It was a golden opportunity missed. There were multiple moments down the stretch where the Lions could’ve made the play that would’ve changed the outcome of the game. It would go on to be a theme throughout the Ivy season for Columbia. The Lions ended up being just a play short in seven of their 10 Ivy League losses, which came by five points or fewer or in overtime. Columbia took the Ivy’s best teams to the wire, but never could get over the hump.

Part of it was that Barbour can’t do everything. Princeton did a good job taking him away during parts of the second half, especially during the big drought.

“They tried to ice me out a bit,” Barbour said after the game. “I thought they did a good job with it. I’ve got a lot of confidence in Meiko [Lyles] and [Alex] Rosenberg to take that responsibility and make some plays on drives and stuff.”

Lyles struggled in both games, but he’d turn things around by the end of the season. Also, Mark Cisco emerged as a consistent force in the paint. All the knocks Columbia suffered this season should only make them stronger. Smith’s team is going to be picked in the top half of the league next season, and deservedly so. They just can’t let close ones, like those first two Ivy nights at Levien, get away.

PRINCETON 62, at COLUMBIA 58
01/14/2012

PRINCETON 10-8 (1-1)– T. Bray 3-5 4-5 12; D. Davis 3-7 3-6 10; I. Hummer 3-10 5-6 11; P. Saunders 2-3 1-2 7; M. Darrow 3-5 2-2 10; J. Sherburne 2-4 2-2 6; B. Hazel 1-3 0-0 2; B. Connolly 1-4 2-2 4; D. Koon 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-43 19-25 62.

COLUMBIA 11-7 (0-2)– B. Barbour 7-11 9-11 25; M. Cisco 4-6 4-4 12; M. Lyles 1-9 2-4 4; A. Rosenberg 4-7 1-1 10; S. Egee 1-6 3-3 5; B. Staab 0-2 0-0 0; J. Daniels 1-5 0-0 2; C. Osetkowski 0-0 0-0 0; N. Springwater 0-0 0-0 0; C. Crockett 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-46 19-23 58.

Three-point goals: PRIN 7-14 (P. Saunders 2-2; D. Davis 1-2; J. Sherburne 0-2; I. Hummer 0-2; M. Darrow 2-3; T. Bray 2-2; B. Hazel 0-1), COLU 3-11 (S. Egee 0-3; B. Barbour 2-4; M. Lyles 0-2; A. Rosenberg 1-2); Rebounds: PRIN 21 (I. Hummer 6), COLU 35 (M. Cisco 10); Assists: PRIN 10 (T. Bray 5), COLU 7 (A. Rosenberg 2); Total Fouls — PRIN 20, COLU 21; Fouled Out: PRIN-None; COLU-A. Rosenberg.

The Cycle of College Basketball

Game #8-013: Wagner Seahawks at Princeton Tigers

November 12, 2011 5:00 pm
Jadwin Gymnasium
BBState Stats/Recap

It happens so fast in college basketball, especially below the Red Line. One season you’re up, the next you’re down. Players graduate, coaches depart, the game changes. Maybe you’ve got Brad Stevens on your bench, so it just takes an adjustment period, but Stevens is just one man, and there is only one Butler right now. So chances are lately your team has gone from nothing, to something, to nothing. It’s the cycle of college basketball.

Two seasons ago, during the 2009-10 season under Mike Deane Wagner was at nothing. The Seahawks were 5-26 and 335th in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings. Then everything changed when Dan Hurley agreed to take over. The former high school coach only lost 21 games in his entire nine-year career at St. Benedict’s in Newark, NJ. He lost 17 in his first season at Wagner.

But last season was used to build, the upswing was noticeable, and while a young team broke down towards the end of the season and a five-game losing streak ended any chance of getting to .500, there was something more important, hope.

On Saturday at Jadwin Gymnasium in Princeton, NJ those hopes got to play a game. The Seahawks took a new roster, with brand new recruits, transfers and talented players throughout and whipped the Tigers 73-57. Hurley’s infectious energy made its way into his players and their tenacious ball pressure forced 28 Princeton turnovers. It was almost exactly as Hurley drew it up 17 months ago.

And so Wagner is on the upswing, but it may be that Princeton is on its way down. It wasn’t so long again that the Tigers were immune to such cycles. They had their own Stevens, Pete Carril. The legend coached the Tigers to 16 Ivy League championships and made Princeton a contender every season. He also created a network of coaches and players that could one day take his place. Princeton enjoyed years of dominating the Ivies thanks to Carril’s coaching tree, but in 2007-08 the Tigers finally hit the bottom going 7-23 in Sydney Johnson’s first season.

But Johnson built things back up quickly. Last season the Tigers went 25-7 and winning a dramatic Ivy League playoff over Harvard, 63-62, to advance to the NCAA Tournament. They were back on top again. But Johnson left and Mitch Henderson took his place and the uncertainty came creeping back in again.

Can Henderson maintain the Princeton legacy Can he keep the Tigers at that high Challengers continue to arrive in the Ivy League. Harvard and Yale look poised to take over the throne this season. Questions abound about how competitive the Tigers can be this season.

Those questions certainly weren’t put to bed on Saturday evening. The Tigers struggled against ball pressure and even when 6’0″ guard Kenneth Ortiz was guarding 6’7″ Ian Hummer they still couldn’t find a way to get a quality shot. It was obvious that Princeton, which is actually a pretty veteran team, still has a lot to learn.

But it looks like the Tigers just caught Wagner at the wrong time, because the Seahawks are on the rise and Princeton doesn’t know where it’s going just yet.

WAGNER 73, at PRINCETON 57
11/12/2011

WAGNER 1-0 (0-0)– T. Murray 4-7 5-6 15; C. Martin 2-7 0-0 5; J. Thompson 7-9 0-2 14; K. Ortiz 3-9 1-4 7; L. Rivers 4-9 2-3 12; N. Folahan 3-5 0-0 6; J. Williams 3-4 1-2 7; O. Parker 1-5 3-6 5; M. Burton 1-5 0-0 2; H. Naurais 0-1 0-0 0; R. Schrotenboer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-61 12-23 73.

PRINCETON 0-1 (0-0)– I. Hummer 8-17 2-4 19; D. Davis 5-7 0-0 12; T. Bray 1-2 0-0 3; M. Darrow 1-2 5-8 7; J. Sherburne 0-2 0-0 0; P. Saunders 2-4 0-0 5; W. Barrett 2-3 0-0 6; B. Connolly 0-4 1-2 1; B. Hazel 0-1 2-4 2; D. Koon 1-1 0-0 2; J. Comfort 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-43 10-18 57.

Three-point goals: WAG 5-11 (C. Martin 1-3; T. Murray 2-2; L. Rivers 2-4; M. Burton 0-2), PRIN 7-13 (P. Saunders 1-2; D. Davis 2-3; J. Sherburne 0-1; W. Barrett 2-2; I. Hummer 1-3; B. Connolly 0-1; T. Bray 1-1); Rebounds: WAG 35 (J. Thompson 9), PRIN 33 (I. Hummer 9); Assists: WAG 12 (T. Murray 4), PRIN 13 (W. Barrett 2); Total Fouls — WAG 19, PRIN 22; Fouled Out: WAG-O. Parker; PRIN-W. Barrett.