The Princeton men’s basketball team (18–10 overall, 7–6 Ivy League) entered the past weekend with hopes of clinching their spot in Ivy Madness. After a much-needed win against Columbia (12–14, 1–12), the Tigers were knocked off their feet in a striking 32-point loss to Cornell (16–10, 8–5). The split weekend was not enough to secure Princeton’s spot in the Ivy League Tournament. Now, the team must beat Penn (8–18, 4–9) at home in their final regular season game this Saturday to punch their ticket.
Overcoming Columbia
On Friday night, Princeton men’s basketball earned a much-needed win over Columbia, defeating the Lions on the road 73–68 to keep their Ivy League tournament hopes alive.
Prior to Friday, the Tigers had lost three of their last four games against league opponents. Despite these ongoing struggles, Princeton defeated Columbia in both matchups this season, extending their win streak against the Lions to 12.
“We were coming in with a must-win mindset,” senior guard Blake Peters told The Daily Princetonian. “We knew we needed to be tough on defense and hard to guard on offense to win.”
The Tigers came out with an energy similar to their game last weekend against Harvard. Scoring began early, with each team employing aggressive offensive pursuits and moving up the court with intensity.
Junior guard Xaivian Lee opened the scoring for Princeton, hitting a three to put the Tigers on the board. Columbia countered with a layup from Zine Eddine Bedri, who then went one for two on the free throw line to tie the game.
The teams exchanged possessions, but a lone jumper from sophomore guard Jackson Hicke proved to be the Tigers’ only basket for nearly four minutes. Capitalizing on Princeton’s offensive drought, the Lions continued to hit mid-range jumpers and convert free throws, earning an early 12–5 lead.
Peters ended Princeton’s dry spell, hitting a deep three off of a pass from Lee to make the score 12–8. A rebound off of another attempted three from Peters led to a break down the court for Columbia, but Lee quickly responded with a driving layup of his own to keep the deficit at four.
The Tigers went scoreless for yet another two minutes, allowing the Lions to accumulate their largest lead of the game, leading 20–10 halfway through the first half.
This time, junior guard Caden Pierce was the first to put the Tigers back on the board, fighting through the defense for a contested layup from a Peters pass. Pierce continued to take over the scoring for Princeton, converting two free throws and earning another layup off of a steal. Princeton was down six, 22–16.
Soon, Peters began to get in on the scoring action, hitting his second three-pointer of the game off of a Pierce assist. As the Lions attempted to counter, Columbia’s Avery Brown encountered a prepared Hicke, who blocked his layup and stormed the court in the opposite direction and finished the play with a dunk. The Tigers trailed by only two, 23–21.
“We just had to keep making plays,” Peters told the ‘Prince.’ “We got a few crucial stops of defense and translated that into easy buckets.”
For the rest of the half, the scoring went back and forth between both teams. Pierce continued to be a consistent scorer for the Tigers, and both Hicke and Peters hit a combined three baskets from deep, making the score 33–32 Columbia with three minutes left in the half.
A coast-to-coast effort from Lee gave Princeton their first lead of the game with two minutes left, but Columbia was able to convert offensively, earning four quick points. Before the buzzer, Lee hit a three to bring the Tigers into the break with only a three-point deficit at 40–37.
Lee entered the second half like he finished the first — ready to shoot. After allowing the Lions to score the first points of the half, Lee hit another three, assisted by Pierce. After Avery responded with a layup for Columbia, Lee tied the game for Princeton with a layup of his own. Two minutes into the second half, the game was tied at 42 apiece.
The teams continued to exchange baskets, causing two lead changes before Princeton began to pull away. A layup from Hicke, followed by two points from Pierce, put the Tigers up by five over halfway through the second half.
Columbia responded with four points from Eddine Bedri, but Lee converted two free throws and added a layup to keep the Tiger lead at 60–57.
After another quick response from the Lions, two free throws from sophomore forward Jacob Huggins and a layup from sophomore guard Dalen Davis put the Tigers back ahead by five, 64–59, with two minutes left of play.
The duo also worked on defensive end, with Huggins contesting a Lions layup, earning a block that Davis rebounded. The ball made its way to the other end of the court, ending the play with a Lee jumper.
As Columbia attempted to crawl back, cutting their deficit to two with one minute remaining, Peters put the Tigers back ahead with a contested layup high off the glass. From here, the Lions began to foul, sending Pierce and Peters to the line, who converted five of six shots. Princeton ended the game on top, 73–68.
Clobbered by Cornell
Princeton and Cornell both entered Sunday’s matchup able to clinch an Ivy League tournament berth with a win. The Big Red took full advantage of these stakes and dominantly secured their spot in Ivy Madness, sweeping the season series vs. the Tigers in the process.
Both squads have lived and died by the three all season, but in this matchup, only one team’s ratios were sustainable. The Tigers shot just 26.3 percent from beyond the arc, whereas Cornell buried 20 of their 33 triples (60.6 percent). With open shooters on most possessions and the three falling like the ball was magnetized, the Big Red tallied 29 assists, and guard Nazir Williams equalled Princeton’s total of 12 assists by himself.
The Tigers played slow to start the game, perhaps trying to throw off the fast-paced Big Red offense, but their strategy only hurt themselves. The Tigers moved the ball well early, but they failed to find good looks even in the shot clock’s full 30 seconds as Cornell’s defense was uncharacteristically stifling to open the afternoon. Cornell jumped out to a 16–2 lead, and the Tigers’ season-long plight of getting in an early hole continued.
Princeton sped up and exchanged blows to close out the first, but they could never keep the Big Red offense quiet for long enough to truly mount a comeback.
With 9:26 left in the first half, junior forward Caden Pierce connected on a three, immediately followed by junior guard Xaivian Lee drilling a step-back triple off of a steal by senior guard Blake Peters. This sequence narrowed the deficit to nine, the last time it would be in the single digits.
Cornell tied their largest lead of the half with a four-point play just before the break. However, a quick two, a turnover, and a Peters’ fadeaway three just before the buzzer cut the lead to 11 and gave the Tigers some hope at halftime.
Any momentum Princeton had going into the break dissipated by the time the second half began. The Big Red again opened on a 16–2 run and then connected from deep on four successive possessions soon after. With 10:12 remaining to play, the Cornell lead was 32 points.
Ultimately, the Tigers looked lost on defense, and the offense flatlined in key moments. Pierce and Lee both ended the game with double-figure points, but they were joined by all five Cornell starters.
Despite their poor showing in a potential clinching game, the Tigers can still make the Ivy tournament. A win vs. Penn (8–18, 4–9) next Saturday would send them to Providence. Should the Tigers lose, they can still advance if Yale (19–7, 12–1) beats Brown (14–12, 6–7).
Lily Pampolina is an associate Sports editor and a staff Audience creator for the ‘Prince.’
Luke Stockless is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Read More
Princeton will not pursue dissociation from Israel, Resources Committee says
Christopher Bao and Luke GrippoA proposal for the University to cut financial ties with entities implicated in “Israel’s illegal occupations, apartheid practices, and plausible acts of genocide” will not move forward following months of deliberation from the Resources Committee.
A proposal for the University to cut financial ties with entities implicated in “Israel’s illegal occupations, apartheid practices, and plausible acts of genocide” will not move forward following months of deliberation from the Resources Committee.
At Arm in Arm, students find community bursting from the shelves
Faith Ho and Sedise TirunehTucked in the basement of the Nassau Presbyterian Church steps away from campus is the Arm in Arm food pantry, Princeton’s branch of the Mercer County non-profit. Since 2021, student volunteers at the pantry have been finding fulfillment and community.
Tucked in the basement of the Nassau Presbyterian Church steps away from campus is the Arm in Arm food pantry, Princeton’s branch of the Mercer County non-profit. Since 2021, student volunteers at the pantry have been finding fulfillment and community.
Men’s lacrosse victorious in duels against top-10 opponents Duke and UNC
Lucas Denault and Lucas NorThe men’s lacrosse team earned a pair of hard-fought wins over Duke and North Carolina in a pair of highly anticipated top-10 clashes.
The men’s lacrosse team earned a pair of hard-fought wins over Duke and North Carolina in a pair of highly anticipated top-10 clashes.
