As Ivy League play nears its close, the Princeton men’s basketball team (17–9 overall, 6–5 Ivy League) went one-for-two in their games against Harvard (10–14, 5–6) and Dartmouth (13–11, 7–4). With just three more games left to play, the Tigers are sitting in third place in the conference with Cornell (14–10, 6–5) right behind them.
Tigers surge behind Lee’s 25-point outing to beat the Crimson 76–71
A lot has changed since Princeton outlasted Harvard back in early January to open Ivy League play. However, despite the Tigers’ struggles this season, they still got the job done against the Crimson.
Princeton shot extremely well in the victory on Friday, with junior guard Xaivian Lee scoring 25 points on 10 of 14 shooting. As a whole, the team shot 58.8 percent from the field and 44 percent from three, posting much higher numbers compared to their 43.1 and 35.4 percent season averages.
For the first 15 minutes of play, the game was close — neither team could pull away. Nevertheless, it was a team effort from the Tigers as scores poured in from Lee, junior forward Caden Pierce, senior guard Blake Peters, and sophomore guard Jackson Hicke. Following a Hicke and-one layup with 6:39 left to play in the half, Princeton led 22–21.
Team play is something the Tigers have struggled to capitalize on this season, and the team has often lived and died by the performances of Lee and Pierce. Part of the reason for the win against Harvard, outside of Lee’s high-scoring performance, was the involvement of the rest of the roster.
First-year forward C.J. Happy, for instance, had a 9–0 run to help close out the first half. With 5:44 to play, Happy hit a layup off the glass. On the next possession in the paint, he did it again. Happy then pulled up for three off a pass from Hicke and nailed it. A media timeout barely broke the run, with the first-year hitting paydirt from down low for his ninth consecutive point and putting the Tigers ahead 31–25 with 3:26 on the clock.
After a couple more buckets, including two triples from Peters, Princeton went into halftime leading 41–29.
Coming out of the half, Harvard first-year guard Robert Hinton did his best to get his team back in the game, scoring six points in rapid succession. Hinton scored 31 points and figures to be a tough matchup for the Tigers in the coming years.
However, Hinton’s efforts weren’t enough, as Princeton’s efficient shooting night continued with makes from senior forward Philip Byriel, Lee, Pierce, and Hicke.
With just 8:44 left to play in the game, Byriel hit his second three of the night to give the Tigers a 65–47 lead. Despite a late push from Harvard, Princeton secured the win at home in Jadwin.
Dartmouth gets revenge in front of Jadwin crowd, beating Princeton 76–61
In their first matchup this season, Princeton eked out a win in Hanover thanks in part to a buzzer beater from Lee. However, things were different this time around.
Although Princeton has kept it quiet, injuries and fatigue are wearing on the roster. First-year forward Malik Abdullahi did not play due to a hamstring injury, and Pierce was not his usual self.
Lee was the only real bright spot for the Tigers, putting up 24 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in 38 minutes of play. The Princeton offense that shot so efficiently the night before against Harvard was nowhere to be found, shooting an abysmal 34.3 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Scorers normally integral to the Tigers’ success like Pierce and Peters had off nights, scoring just two and six points respectively. Without the help of the rest of the roster, Lee’s 24 points were not enough to overcome the Big Green.
The game started off poorly for Princeton, with Dartmouth jumping out to a 6–0 start. After the first 10 minutes of play, the Big Green led 18–4, utterly dominating the Tigers on both ends of the floor.
“[The start] was very flat,” Head Coach Mitch Henderson ’98 said in a postgame interview. “It’s been a real problem for us … It’s been a big problem for us all season.”
“It’s a group that lacks focus on the littlest of things and going as hard we possibly can,” he added.
Lee and sophomore guard Dalen Davis did their best to close the gap, and with 2:17 to play, the pair pulled Princeton within nine points, 30–21. Davis scored 14 points on the night, the second highest total behind Lee.
“I think Dalen really stepped up today with making some plays,” Lee said in a postgame interview.
Two more threes from Lee and one from Davis made it a four point game heading into half, with the Tigers trailing 32–28.
The first half was very reminiscent of a lot of Princeton games this year. After going down big early, the team fought their way back into contention. While playing from behind is far from ideal, the Tigers have proven it is an obstacle they are able to overcome.
To start the second half, it looked as though Jadwin was in for another barn burner. Pierce’s lone score of the game put Princeton within three with 16:32 to play, and then back-to-back buckets from Hicke made it a two point game, 43–41.
However, after a Byriel triple with 11:21 to play, the Orange and Black went scoreless for the next five minutes. During that time, the Big Green went on a devastating 15–0 run, ending the Tigers’ comeback hopes.
“I think we erased an 18-point deficit in the first half, so it’s hard to do that twice in the game,” Lee said.
The loss dropped Princeton’s conference record to just 6–5, barely above .500. If Henderson’s squad hopes to be playing well into March, major changes are going to have to come. The Tigers’ offense has ground to a standstill far too frequently this season, and with just three games left to play, postseason success is looking more and more fleeting by the day.
“We’re struggling to score,” Henderson told the press. “So the ball moved last night [against Harvard], it didn’t move tonight.”
Even with the loss, Henderson is still confident in what his roster can do.
“It doesn’t look great, but we’re right there,” he said.
If Princeton can right the ship against Columbia (12–12 overall, 1–10 Ivy League), Cornell, and Penn (7–17, 3–8) and iron out the streakiness on both sides of the ball, this team’s upperclassmen have the experience and know what it takes to win in March.
“There’s a lot of basketball left, but this is what March is about,” Henderson said. “Next weekend is March, and we can correct.”
“Can’t get discouraged,” he added later. “Gotta keep fighting. Gotta keep working.”
Doug Schwartz is an associate Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com
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