Playing in their first game of the season, the Tigers (1–0 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) erased a 16-point deficit to defeat the Iona Gaels (0–1 overall, 0–0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference).
“I told most of their staff they were better than us,” head coach Mitch Henderson ’98 told The Daily Princetonian after the game. “It was very much a learning experience.”
After a high-scoring and even first 12 minutes, Iona closed the half on a 25–12 run to take a 49–37 lead into the locker room. After being down by 16 points early in the second half, the Tigers flipped a switch, going on a 20–2 run to make it a new ball game with under 10 minutes remaining.
“We didn’t really come ready to play,” junior Caden Pierce noted. “I think we kind of expected to just walk out there and, you know, do our thing, and, you know, we got punched in the face, and I think we needed that.”
After a back-and-forth affair, two free throws from junior star guard Xaivian Lee sealed an 81–80 victory for the Tigers. Lee finished the game with 27 points, six assists, and four rebounds — which included 17 points in the final 12 minutes.
“Credit to Princeton,” Iona head coach Tobin Anderson told the ‘Prince’ postgame. “I thought Xaivian Lee played tremendous. Lee made some great shots in the second half.”
Notably, Deven Austin was not to be seen for the Tigers. Postgame, Henderson confirmed that Austin took a leave of absence in late October due to personal reasons.
“Deven [Austin] has taken a leave of absence from school, so he won't be with us,” Henderson said. “We wish him the best, about all I can say about it at the moment.”
The first five minutes saw both teams struggle to find their rhythm offensively. During the first media timeout, Princeton led 10–9. Down 13–11, Pierce and Peters hit back-to-back triples to take a 17–15 lead.
On the other side, guard and three-star recruit Adam Njie Jr. catalyzed the Iona offense with eight of their first 20 points. Game-planning for the Gaels was a challenge, as the team returned zero players from the 2023–24 season.
“We knew very little about how they were going to play,” Henderson noted. “We knew very little about the presses, the personnel, actions, calls, and it showed.”
First year forward Malik Abdullahi was quick to find a role, scoring four points in his first minute on the court. Iona’s defense demonstrated poise, as their full-court press and double coverage on Lee and Pierce gave Princeton trouble pushing the ball up the court.
Down 24–25, Iona went on an 11–2 run to take an eight-point lead, with much more energy from the bench and on-court players.
“Credit to them, they played their butts off,” Pierce said. “They made it tough for us. They sped us up, especially in the first half.
A three from Davis brought the Tigers within a single possession, but the Gaels continued to cause problems for the Tigers on both ends of the court. A 14–5 run by Iona put them up 49–37 at the halftime break.
“I was worried at halftime, just because we weren’t competing honestly, myself included,” Lee added. “I literally told Cade [Pierce], Hicke, Huggins before the game: ‘we might get punched in the face, but we’re always gonna have a chance to win.’”
In the second half, the Gaels picked up right where they left off, pressing hard, pushing transition, and getting to the rim, leading to a Princeton turnover and open Gael three. With 16:35 left in the game, Iona had its largest lead of the game, up 58–42. The atmosphere inside Jadwin was dull.
Lack of communication plagued the Tigers on the floor. In the absence of a floor general like Matt Allocco ’24, the Tigers were quieter than usual, which led to consistent turnovers.
“We were lucky to have leaders like Zach and Mush [Allocco] and they made it easy on us,” Pierce said. “Now that those voices are gone, it’s up to me, Xaiv, and Blake step in and fill that role.”
Pierce continued, “I think in the first half, we didn’t do a good job of that. It's a young season, and we're figuring things out as well, but I know we’ll improve on that.”
Despite this, the Tigers slowly crawled back into the game. A triple by Peters and back-to-back buckets from Pierce cut the deficit to seven, 60–53.
The Tigers continued to find ways to get back in the game. Following a media timeout, a step-back three from Lee, a tough layup from Davis, and a fast-break dunk by Huggins highlighted a 7–0 run that turned into a larger 20–2 run.
“Once we got stops, I felt like all the momentum kept coming,” Lee said. “It’s a lot easier to play when they're not scoring honestly.”
Tied at 66–66 later in the run, Lee had a highlight reel-worthy play with an ankle-breaker step-back triple to bring Jadwin to its feet. A layup from Huggins put Princeton up 71–67 and in the driver’s seat.
6:42 2nd | Princeton 69, Iona 66@xaivianlee connects on the step-back!
— Princeton Men’s Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) November 5, 2024
The Tigers go up three!
💻: https://t.co/j4DGhA9fjY #MakeShots 🐯🏀 pic.twitter.com/STGn4k15CL
However, the Gaels refused to roll over and a 10–4 run put them up 77–73. With 2:33 left in the game, Lee hit his third triple of the game to cut the deficit to one. After both teams failed to convert, Lee hit a jumper as the clock expired to give Princeton a 78–77 lead with under a minute remaining.
With Princeton up two, Iona converted an and-one to take a one-point lead with 18 seconds remaining. With 25 points on the game, it was clear the ball would be in Lee’s hands. Lee did indeed take the ball and control, driving to the rim and earning two free throws with 3.7 seconds remaining.
Lee sank both free throws to seal the opening night win for the Tigers, 81–80 after a jumper from Iona did not find its way through the hoop.
Peters played 33 minutes off the bench for Princeton. Postgame, Henderson was pleased with the lineup that ended the game, hinting at a possible switch in the starting lineup for the second game.
“I think we feel pretty good about the group that was out there at the end, which of course, involves Blake [Peters],” Henderson noted.
Despite the win, it was evident that there were holes in the team that needed to be addressed. Size was a concern for the Tigers, who got out-rebounded 33–25. Furthermore, the Tigers struggled from the charity stripe, going 11-for-22, but made them when it mattered most.
Next up for the Tigers will be the second annual Jersey Jam against Duquesne (0–1, 0–0 Atlantic 10). Last year, the Tigers edged out a 70–67 win against the Dukes early in the season on the road.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate Sports editor and News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
JP Ohl is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Correction: A previous version of this piece misquoted Lee implying that the team was not competing last year
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