The Princeton men’s basketball team (12–4 overall, 1–0 Ivy League) traveled to Cambridge on Saturday to open Ivy League play in the same manner as last season — with a win at Harvard (5-9 overall, 0-1 Ivy League). The Tigers were in control for most of the contest, eventually emerging with a 68–64 victory as they began their push toward March.
Last season, Princeton soared to a Ivy-best 12–2 conference record before ultimately crashing down in the first round of the Ivy tournament with a loss at the hands of fourth-seeded Brown. Hopes of back-to-back Cinderella stories were dashed, and the Tigers had to watch rival Yale create madness of their own in the NCAA tournament.
This year, the Tigers again look poised to be among the conference’s best, alongside Yale (8–6 overall, 1–0 Ivy League), Cornell (9–5 overall, 1–0 Ivy League), and Columbia (11–3 overall, 0–1 Ivy League).
Led by the one-two punch of junior guard Xaivian Lee and junior forward Caden Pierce, and bolstered by solid play up and down the roster, Princeton is in prime position to contend for their fourth consecutive regular season title and avenge last year’s postseason shortcomings.
However, the team must shore up some aspects of their play if they want to avoid another Ivy tournament disappointment. In their Ivy League opener, the Tigers made several blunders late, seeing a double digit lead evaporate into a one-possession game after several back-to-back turnovers.
To open the game, first-year forward Malik Abdullahi and Lee exchanged blows with the Crimson early on, combining to score the Tigers’ first 13 points as Princeton jumped out to a slim 13-12 lead.
The two teams continued to match each others’ strikes before Crimson guard Chandler Piggé notched five quick points to give Harvard a 23–19 lead with five minutes remaining in the half.
In the period’s waning minutes, the Tigers’ offense exploded. Nine of their final ten possessions before the break resulted in points, and Princeton took a 37–33 lead into the locker room.
Pierce looked strong in his return to the hardwood, having missed the Tigers’ last game entirely after being sidelined early against Akron with an ankle injury. The reigning Ivy League Player of the Year logged the final points of the half with a buzzer-beating layup, and contributed four points, five rebounds, and three assists in the opening twenty.
The Crimson started the scoring in the second half with a three to bring them back within one point, but their offense would soon stagnate, failing to score for nearly four minutes.
The Tigers took advantage of the Crimson’s drought, as triples from Lee and senior guard Blake Peters bookended a pair of Harvard free throws and pushed Princeton’s advantage to 11, the largest lead of the game.
The Crimson strung together a quick run with two threes, but the Tiger defense stepped up, forcing five consecutive misses from the home team as the Tigers worked their lead back into double figures.
With just under two minutes left in the game, Harvard guard Louis Lesmond met Lee at the rim with a stern rejection. Lee responded by catching an inbound pass with one second on the shot clock and banking in a potential dagger from beyond the arc — which to Tiger fans’ dismay was disallowed for coming after the shot clock expired.
Down eight with 40 seconds to play, Crimson guard Robert Hinton spearheaded one final push for the Crimson, stealing a Tiger pass and laying it in on the fast break. After Lee drained one of two from the free throw line, Hinton spun to the basket and put in another layup, drawing a foul from Peters and completing the three point play.
With their lead cut to four, the Tigers again turned the ball over, this time on the inbound. Hinton’s fastbreak layup attempt was swatted away by sophomore guard Jackson Hicke, but the block was ruled a goaltending violation, and the Tigers now clung to just a two-point cushion.
The Tigers turned to a familiar face to secure the win. Sophomore guard Dalen Davis, who scored the last-second three-pointer to beat Akron, iced yet another game with two free throws to make it a two possession game with ten seconds left. Hicke would make sure to get his block and rejected Piggé in the final seconds to make the victory official.
As the clock ticked down, “Let’s go Tigers” chants rang out across the Lavietes Pavilion, and the sizable swath of Tiger faithful in attendance were rewarded with a 68-64 win in the first conference game of the season.
Pierce’s return to the lineup was a welcome addition as his eight boards and four assists were both team highs. He also led the squad with 37 minutes played, despite his recent absences.
Lee was the Tigers’ top scorer, totaling 22 points on very efficient 8-13 shooting and helping to ensure the conference schedule began with a win.
The Tigers play next at Dartmouth (7–7 overall, 1–0 Ivy League) on Jan. 18 before beginning a four game home stand.
Luke Stockless is a contributing Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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