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Goodrich starts 100th, scores 1,000th

Last week started off miserably for Steve Goodrich. First off, the senior center of the men's basketball team suffered through a week-long bout with bronchitis. Meanwhile the Tigers played one of their worst games of the year Monday, in a 59-50 win over the College of New Jersey at Jadwin Gym, a Division III opponent. To top things off, the next three days of practice were described by both coaches and players as some of the hardest, most physical and least fun workouts of the year. Could it – would it – get any worse?

The answer: a resounding "no."

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This weekend, Goodrich and the No. 11 Tigers (16-1 overall, 4-0 Ivy League) shook off any rust left over from a two-week break for exams. Princeton blew out Cornell, 86-61, Friday in a very un-Princeton-like game marked by its numerous fast-breaks and loose balls, and even two Tiger slam dunks. The following night, Princeton returned to its slowdown tempo, besting Columbia, 58-45. With the two home victories, the Tigers remain alone atop the Ivy standings, one game ahead of Penn.

Not only did Goodrich's once-dreary week come to a close with a pair of victories and an improvement in his health, but Saturday's game may as well have been Steve Goodrich Night at Jadwin Gym. Goodrich started his 100th career game, becoming one of only three Tigers to ever start the first 100 games of his career. Additionally, Goodrich surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career when he hit a three-point shot from the top of the key with 11 minutes and 32 seconds left in the first half, becoming the 22nd player in school history to score 1,000 points.

Goodrich finished the night with nine points, eight rebounds, four blocks, and a career-high nine assists. His three blocks in the closing minutes sealed the game for the Tigers.

"I've played a lot of games, so I've scored a lot of points," Goodrich said. "It's nice to be in the same company with a lot of good players, but it's not too much of a deal."

"(Steve) is one of the hardest workers I've ever seen in practice," current Columbia coach and former Princeton assistant Armond Hill '85 said. "He deserves everything he is getting."

Copycat

In Columbia (6-12, 1-5), the Tigers faced a team eerily similar to themselves. Hill has attempted to install Princeton's offensive system, but has so far met with mediocre results.

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Despite, the Lions' slow progress, Columbia ran its offense as well as the Tigers in the first half. Sophomore guard Brian Earl shot 4 for 4 from beyond the arc in the half, but his teammates made just one of 14 three-point attempts, and Princeton entered the half clinging to a one-point lead, 23-22.

"They run a lot of the same plays we do," Goodrich said. "They play the same type of tempo we do. Obviously they can guard our stuff because they run it."

Fatigue caught up to the Lions in the second half, and the back-door cuts which had been fiercely defended in the opening half suddenly became open. Earl's fifth three-pointer broke a 33-33 tie with 10:18 left, sparking a 14-4 Tiger run which saw Goodrich block a layup and a dunk attempt. Columbia's defenders were a step slower for the rest of the game, and Princeton coasted to victory behind a number of open layups.

Earl scored a game-high 21 points, while senior guard Mitch Henderson finished with 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals.

On your mark

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Friday, the Tigers broke out of their slowdown style to run Cornell (6-12, 2-2) into submission. Head coach Bill Carmody anticipated an uptempo game and emphasized the fastbreak in the practices leading up to the game.

"I thought we could run on this team because they really hit the offensive boards," Carmody said. "I thought if we were fortunate enough to get some rebounds, we could beat them down the court."

The result of Carmody's gameplan was Princeton's largest scoring output of the season. The Tigers converted 18 Big Red turnovers into numerous fastbreak layups, finishing with 22 assists to Cornell's six.

Missing Star

Astonishingly, none of Princeton's 86 points came from Earl, who entered the game as the Tigers' leading scorer with 14.3 points per game. Cornell guard DeShawn Standard limited Earl to just three shots, but the defense's preoccupation with Earl left forwards James Mastaglio and Gabe Lewullis with open looks at the basket.

Lewullis equaled his career-high with 24 points, while Mastaglio added 17. Sophomore center Mason Rocca had his best game of the season, tallying 10 points and 5 rebounds.

"I was pretty upset with the way I played Monday (against the College of New Jersey), as was everybody else," Lewullis said. "A lot of guys made it a personal goal to go out there and play tough."