Coming off a loss against the Loyola Chicago Ramblers, the Tigers (4–1 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) traveled to North Andover, Massachusetts to take on the Merrimack Warriors (1–2, 0–0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference).
The Tigers struggled in the first half against the Merrimack zone, trailing by 14 with just over six minutes remaining in the half. However, the Orange and Black rallied to tie the game and took care of business in the second half en route to a 68–57 win.
Junior forward Caden Pierce — the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year — led the Tigers with 18 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Sophomore guard Dalen Davis added 16 points for the visitors.
“This group has a lot of fight and we don’t quit and we always believe that we’re gonna win the game,” Pierce told The Daily Princetonian. “We felt confident we were gonna keep getting stops and we started to settle in against their zone.”
First year forward Malik Abdullahi got his second straight start for head coach Mitch Henderson’s ’98 squad, scoring six of the first eight points for the Tigers to put them up 8–2. Abdullahi was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week after scoring 19 points in the last two games for the Tigers.
Following the media timeout, the Warriors quickly responded, going on a 9–0 to take a three-point lead.
Down 13–10, Davis connected from deep off a pass from junior guard Jack Scott to tie the game. Scott, who missed the first two games of the season, made his season debut in the win over Northeastern.
After transferring to William & Mary in April, the New Jersey native transferred back to the Garden State in the summer. Henderson and Scott made a mutual decision to ease him back into the lineup.
Warriors guard Tye Dorset hit back-to-back triples to put Merrimack up eight. After Davis responded close to the rim, Merrimack continued to force turnovers and capitalize.
The Tigers — who averaged 9.5 turnovers a game heading into the match — had seven turnovers in the first 14 minutes of action. A three-pointer with just under seven minutes remaining gave Merrimack its largest lead of the game, up 29–15.
“The zone is really unique and forces a lot of turnovers unlike anything I’ve ever seen before and it was difficult because we only had one day of prep,” Pierce said. “We had a quick turnaround and weren’t able to practice against a zone.”
Down 31–18, senior guard Blake Peters hit a contested three pointer to re-energize the Tigers. After Merrimack missed consecutive free throws, senior forward Philip Byriel hit and Peters connected on triples in back-to-back possessions to bring the Tigers within four.
After the Warriors scored, seven straight points from Pierce tied the game. It took a little over six minutes for the Orange and Black to erase a 14 point deficit. Despite a bucket from Merrimack to put them up 35–33, it was clear which side had the momentum heading into the locker room.
“The main thing was just to take care of the ball,” Pierce noted when asked about Henderson’s halftime message. “Their defense is designed to force turnovers.”
Looking to capitalize on the momentum, Princeton came out of the halftime break strong. Five points from Davis in a span of a minute gave the Tigers a 38–37 advantage. A shot from Pierce and a second triple from Byriel capped off a 28–6 run that put Princeton up eight.
Despite junior star Xaivian Lee having three points, the Tigers were still finding ways to win. Up six, Pierce got to the rim and finished for two to put the Tigers up 52–44.
The Tigers continued to push as Lee started to catch fire. A corner triple with four minutes remaining put the Orange and Black up 60–48. Shortly after, Lee connected on a tough jumper to give the Tigers their biggest lead of the game, silencing the Merrimack crowd.
Princeton held on for a 68–57 win in North Andover. The Tigers shot over 53 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle (37–23) for the first time this season.
In all four Tiger wins this season, they have trailed by at least seven points. The storyline thus far for Princeton has been its second-half performance. They have a negative-17 scoring differential in the first half compared to a plus-34 differential in the second half.
Byriel had his best game in a Princeton jersey on Sunday afternoon as he finished with six points, seven rebounds, and three assists in 17 minutes off the bench. The Pennsylvania native will have his biggest role with the team after the departure of Zach Martini ’24.
Princeton will leave the 609 again this week as they head to Myrtle Beach, S.C. for the Myrtle Beach Invitational.
“We’re just continuing to try and build our identity,” Pierce added. “I think this group can be really good and really aggressive on defense and I think we can force turnovers. We have a lot of speed and athleticism and I think we’re only gonna get better and I think we’re only gonna get better with that and get more comfortable and familiar with the roles.”
The Tigers will open tournament play against Wright State (3–2, 0–0 Horizon League) on Thursday night with two more games on the slate for Friday and Sunday.
“We’ve been down a lot early so we gotta address coming out of the gates quicker. I think defense is the main part of that. We gotta get stops coming out of the gates and I think if we address that, we’ll have a lot of success down in Myrtle Beach,” Pierce concluded.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate Sports editor and News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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