PROVIDENCE, R.I. — On Saturday afternoon, Princeton men’s basketball (19–11 overall, 8–7 Ivy League) fell to Yale (22–7, 14–1), 59–57, for the third time this season in a tightly contested battle in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals. With the loss, the Tigers lose their shot at an automatic bid for March Madness.
“I’m proud to have played in a really meaningful game — they’re a really good team,” head coach Mitch Henderson ’98 said postgame. “We weren’t competitive with them in the first two games of the season. This was as resilient as we looked all season.”
Princeton entered Ivy Madness as the fourth seed, despite having been predicted to win the Ivy League pre-season, a testament to the season-long difficulties the team has faced on both ends of the court. The Tigers have been plagued by turnovers and difficulty getting points in the paint.
On the other end, Yale was enjoying one of their most successful seasons in recent memory. With only one conference defeat, the Bulldogs dominated the Ivy League in many facets, led by the now three-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year Bez Mbeng as well as the league’s top scorer John Poulakidas.
Sophomore forward Jacob Huggins and sophomore guard Dalen Davis led the Tigers in the +/- category against the Bulldogs, a statistic describing the relative points gained or lost against the opponent when the player is on the floor. Huggins and Davis had +/-’s of 12 and 13 points, respectively.
Despite these contributions, over the course of the season, both players faced troubles with time on the court.
“Gotta blame the coach on that one,” Henderson commented. “[Huggins] was really helpful all season, and you know, it was my decision at certain times to not play him but he was terrific when he did [play].”
“I always try to be prepared mentally for a game like this,” Huggins told The Daily Princetonian’. “Whenever your number gets called you got to be ready.”
“Dalen was +13,” Henderson continued. “We needed that, and it wasn’t my best year, but I thought that tonight we showed what we can be.”
The Bulldogs came onto the court with absolute intensity. Forward Nick Townsend bodied through defenders, while the Tigers simply could not make shots, taking their first timeout down 9–0.
Princeton could not muster a single point for the first five minutes, trailing a game-worst 12–0. Davis scored the first points for the Tigers with a three-pointer off the bench, before senior guard Blake Peters followed suit with a layup that cut the deficit to 12–5.
Junior standout Xavian Lee’s assist to Huggins then made history, giving Lee the Princeton single-season assist record with 162 — previously held by Tosan Evbuomwan ’23 — and bringing the Tigers to a 21–17 deficit.
Peters then energized the crowd with a triple that brought the deficit to just one point , 21–20.
But following a media timeout, the momentum once again shifted in the Bulldogs’ favor as Mbeng’s skills led Yale to a 10–0 run,giving them an 11-point lead with two minutes in the half.
The Tigers responded with Peters’ third triple of the night and Dalen’s strength under the rim for a 5–0 run cut off by the halftime buzzer.
The Tigers entered the locker room down 31–25, with six points being their lowest halftime deficit against Yale this season.
Impressively, the Tigers’ defense held Yale to zero triples from seven attempts.The Bulldog dominance in the paint was the difference in the first.
The Tigers opened the second half with two turnovers and a missed open three-pointer, before Poulakidas drained Yale’s first two three-pointers of the night. Peters responded with another three of his own, but the Tigers continued their disastrous shooting beyond the arc, quickly trailing 39–28.
The Tigers came out of the next timeout more precise, highlighted by a Davis jumper and a third Lee-to-Pierce slam dunk. But Yale pushed back with their persistent offensive boards, leaving the Tigers down 45–35 at the second media timeout.
Henderson was constantly subbing players in and out as Peters and Happy each found themselves with three fouls, but Princeton regained momentum through Lee. Despite struggling to drive through Yale’s presence in the paint, he persisted into a layup, assisted Huggins, and then drilled a three-pointer to keep the Tigers in the game, down 49–42.
Peters came back onto the court and immediately sank a triple, before Davis nailed two free throws that brought the deficit to just two points, 49–47.
A pair of Townsend free throws and an alley-oop from him to center Samson Aletan appeared to cut the Tigers’ hopes short once again, but Davis did not back down. Powering through the paint as the shortest player on the court, he managed a layup as Princeton called a timeout down 53–49.
On the other end, Pierce played excellent defense against Townsend, forcing a miss and driving to the other end for a layup, bringing the Tigers once again within two points, down 53–51.
After a Poulakidas missed free throw, the Tigers stormed down the court and found Happy for a three, sending Tiger fans into a frenzy as they took their first lead of the game, 54–53.
The remaining three minutes were crucial. Mbeng scored an and-one on Lee’s fourth foul of the game, but Lee responded with a mean crossover and a monumental triple that gave the Tigers the lead with just over a minute to go, 57–56.
Poulakidas, closely guarded by Peters, managed to nail a closely-contested three-pointer with just under a minute remaining, pulling the Bulldogs back up to 59–57.
“I was trying to influence him right, but it's a great play.” Peters said postgame. "It'll eat at me forever.”
On the other end, Pierce tried driving for a layup, but Yale forward Casey Simmons denied him. The Bulldogs took the ball back with 33 seconds left
Now facing a three-second shot clock differential, Poulakidas took his time. With Lee and Peters both on four fouls, there was miscommunication on the court about fouling him or not. Poulakidas calmly held onto the ball for a shot-clock violation, with Princeton quickly calling a timeout for a final shot at defying the odds.
A controversial shot-clock change did not change Henderson’s plan as the most clutch player on the team was clear. With five game winners this season, all eyes turned onto Princeton’s final hope, Xaivian Lee.
“We knew what we were doing,” Henderson said about the last play. “I was like, ‘that’s going in, no way.’”
But as the crowd held its breath, the Tigers ended their season with a heartbreaker after Lee’s shot bounced off the back rim.
“I’ve got to make that shot,” Lee reflected about the last play.
Peters was the only senior to appear on the court in Princeton’s final game of the season.
“He’s just done all he’s done to make Princeton basketball better. He personified what we are,” Henderson told the ‘Prince.’
“We’ve accomplished a lot in four years,” Peters reflected post-game. “This was my dream, my whole life,” Peters tearfully continued.
Yale will play the winner of Cornell (17–10, 9–5 Ivy League) and Dartmouth (14–13, 8–6 Ivy League) in the Ivy League Tournament final tomorrow at noon for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Bryant Figueroa is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Lily Pampolina contributed reporting.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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