The Princeton Tigers are no longer undefeated in Ivy League men’s basketball.
Despite some late-game heroics by senior guard Jaelin Llewellyn, Princeton (15–4, 5–1 Ivy) was unable to mount a comeback against the Yale Bulldogs (10–1, 4–1 Ivy) in a 80–74 loss. The game snapped the Tigers’ 10 game home-winning streak.
“We’ve been on an elevator on the way up to the penthouse all season,” Head Coach Mitch Henderson ’98 told The Daily Princetonian. “This is a great opportunity to see how we can rebound and respond.”
Things didn’t look so dire early on for Henderson and company, as the first two plays of the game for the Tigers were electric. Back-to-back dunks by senior guard Ethan Wright and junior forward Tosan Evbuomwan got the crowd on their feet, but the 4–0 lead built through their acrobatics was the largest lead of the game for Princeton. Yale quickly took control and never gave up the lead, using their agility on the perimeter and their physicality inside to cause trouble for the Tigers. Forward Matt Knowling led Yale in scoring with 17 points, while guards Jalen Gabbidon and Azar Swain contributed 14 points each.
When Princeton came out in a zone defense following a late first-half timeout, Yale swung the ball from one wing to the other, finding junior guard Matthue Cotton in the corner for a high-arcing three-pointer. With 30 seconds to go, the Bulldogs got a stop and turned defense into offense; Swain’s shifty crossover got him enough space to flip up a buzzer-beating layup that put an exclamation point on their run. At the half, Yale led 43–26.
“Knowling really hurt us,” Henderson said. “He was physical, intimidating, and unafraid of us. Cotton got loose for some timely shots. They played with a ton of energy, and they took it right to us.”
The Tigers looked to match Yale’s energy at the start of the second half. Leading the pack was junior guard Ryan Langborg, who created instant offense with a pull-up jumper at the elbow, followed by a clean dish to Evbuomwan on the block for an easy lay-up.
“The way we started the second half, I thought we might be able to take the lead again,” Henderson said.
This jolt, however, was not enough to swing the momentum. Yale maintained a double digit lead all the way until 3:09 remained in the game. This is where things began heating up for Princeton.
In a late-game attempt to make a run, the Tigers turned to defense. They hassled their opponents with full-court pressure that forced two turnovers in the final two minutes.
“The press got us back in the game,” said Henderson.
The Tigers then turned to senior leadership on offense, as Llewellyn hit four tough threes in a row, each with a hand in his face. Ethan Wright’s acrobatic put-back layup made it a one-possession game, 74–72, with 1:07 remaining. Llewellyn stuffed the stat-sheet with a game-high 23 points, six rebounds, five assets, one block, and one steal. Wright and Evbuomwan each added 15 points for the Tigers.
With 40 seconds on the clock, Swain hit an and-one fadeaway from the mid-post that pushed the lead to 76–72. His miss at the free-throw line put the ball in Evbuomwan’s hands. The Princeton senior put his head down and muscled his way into the paint for an and-one shot off the glass, although he too failed to convert from the charity stripe, leaving the Yale lead at 76–74.
After Evbuomwan was able to force a Yale guard to dribble the ball out of bounds of his own foot in the press, the Tigers got the ball back and were in a position to make a big play, down two with 20 seconds on the clock. Once again, the ball found Evbuomwan. The drop step over his left shoulder gave his team a chance to tie it up, but just missed off of the back of the rim. Yale secured the rebound, and knocked down their free throws to seal the deal. As a team, Yale shot 78 percent from the free-throw line. Princeton shot 44 percent.
Even though they could not walk away with a win, Coach Henderson said that these kinds of losses may have valuable lessons.
“There’s so much that happens when you lose, things that you can’t really emphasize when you win — a difference in a half-step, or a foul here or there,” Henderson remarked. “I think there’s going to be dozens of opportunities for teaching moments.”
Moving forward, the Tigers plan on tuning up their performance at the start of games to avoid early deficits.
“It should have been a wake-up call a long time ago with our slow starts,” Jaelin Llewellyn told the ‘Prince,’ “but this one is definitely a punch in the face. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
The lack of energy within Jadwin Gymnasium hasn’t helped the team get off to quick starts this season, either. Princeton has had to play their last five home games without many of their fans in attendance because of the University’s COVID-19 protocols, which states that only “students, faculty, and staff who are fully compliant with the University's COVID-19 protocols” are permitted as spectators.
“It's been dead,” Henderson said. “Completely dead.”
“It's a huge difference,” added Llewellyn. “Seeing the people that you know and that you care about in the crowd is a real morale booster.”
The luxury of having a home crowd in attendance will have to be put on hold. Princeton will travel to Ithaca for the first of a two-game road trip on Friday, Feb. 4 to matchup against Cornell (11–6, 3–3 Ivy). In their last matchup on Jan. 8, Princeton edged out a 72–70 victory thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer from sophomore guard Matt Allocco. On Saturday, Feb. 5, the Tigers take on Columbia (4–14, 1–5 Ivy), whom they already defeated in Jadwin Gym earlier this month.
Matt Drapkin is a staff writer for the ‘Prince’ sports section. He can be reached at mattdrapkin@princeton.edu or on Twitter at @mattdrapkin.
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