NEW YORK - As St. Nick prepared for his long journey, the men's basketball team began an arduous trip of its own. While Mr. Claus had only to work on one lengthy evening, the Tigers played four games against quality opponents in a span of nine days, dropping three of the contests because of injuries and a lack of cohesion.
In the week before Christmas, Princeton played the roles of both Santa and Grinch as the team brought joy to fans in Fort Worth, Tex., falling to Texas Christian, 76-45, only to snatch a victory from under the tree of Holy Cross five days later, 47-46, in Worcester, Mass. The Tigers then traveled to New York to take part in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Holiday Festival.
Princeton was out-hustled and out-muscled in its first game at Madison Square Garden, losing to eventual tournament champion Penn State, 65-52, Dec. 26. The following night, depleted by injuries and facing a Rutgers squad that had defeated them only 12 days earlier, the Tigers (4-7 overall), fell once again to the Scarlet Knights, 53-39.
Holy wars
TCU dominated Princeton in all facets of the game during their Dec. 18 contest. The Horned Frogs (12-3) forced 21 Tiger turnovers and snared 18 rebounds in the 31 point rout. Much of this margin came from the free throw line as Princeton made five of 10 attempts from the charity stripe while TCU was 31 for 39.
The itinerant team pulled out a win in the waning moments against Holy Cross, thanks to clutch plays by sophomore guard Kyle Wente and junior guard Ahmed El-Nokali. A three-pointer by Wente gave the visitors a five point lead with four minutes, 36 seconds remaining. The Crusaders (11-4) scored nine of the next 12 points, and took a 46-45 lead with 30 seconds left on a Jared Curry three. Moments later, El-Nokali was fouled while driving to the basket and made both ends of a one-and-one to give Princeton the win.
The stretch of games during Winter Break was particularly tough.
"Our schedule was not put together with this group of guys in mind," head coach John Thompson '88 said of his team's first 11 games - of which only two have been at home.
Compounding matters for Thompson's troops are nagging injuries to three key starters - junior forward Mike Bechtold and senior center Nate Walton, both of whom have foot problems. El-Nokali underwent surgery in October to repair a tendon in his groin.
Against Penn State, Walton seemed to reinjure his foot early in the first half while elevating for a layup under the basket. The attempt failed, and Walton grimaced as he came back down. Later in the same period Bechtold reaggravated his foot injury and headed to the locker room early. The two starters managed to play only 36 minutes combined in the contest.
Missed opportunities
Despite the weakened state of its two leading scorers, Princeton managed to stay close to Penn State, trailing 31-24 at halftime. This margin would have been greatly reduced had the Tigers converted a few of the seven layups they missed in the opening frame. In the second half, behind All-Big Ten guard Joe Crispin's game-high 22 points, the Nittany Lions (9-3) pulled away from the wounded Tigers.
"We played hard in spurts and got close in the first half but we came out with no energy in the second half," freshman forward Andre Logan said. "It's a struggle for us to play hard all the time, and I'm a part of that."
While momentary lapses cost Princeton dearly against Penn State, the squad suffered against Rutgers (13-1) without Walton and Bechtold. With no inside presence, the Tigers resorted to shooting from the perimeter and converted a paltry four of 24 from three-point range.
"It's very tough," Thompson said. "They're an integral part of our team. We haven't been able to have any consistency because we haven't had a consistent group of guys out there in practice or in games.
"Everything runs through Nate with this team. Traditionally everything runs through our center - Nate's our center, Nate's our leader. We don't have him on the court."
Walton was in street clothes for the consolation game, while Bechtold, despite the medical risk, gamely tried to play on his lame foot but was ineffective in three minutes of play.
Mercifully for Princeton, there is a lengthy break between the Holiday Festival and the start of the Ivy season. The Tigers have 16 days between the latest Rutgers defeat and their next game - against Cornell this Friday. The Big Red contest is one of two games the team will play in a 34-day span.
Read More
Back to Back: No. 11 women’s water polo repeats as CWPA champions
JP OhlFor the second time in program history, the Princeton women’s water polo team repeated as CWPA Champions. The squad will open the NCAA tournament with a quarterfinal match against No.2 Hawaii.
For the second time in program history, the Princeton women’s water polo team repeated as CWPA Champions. The squad will open the NCAA tournament with a quarterfinal match against No.2 Hawaii.
Cornell’s Ben Syer to take the reins as new head coach of Princeton men’s ice hockey
Ava Seigel and Cole KellerAfter ten years, Princeton men’s hockey head coach Ron Fogarty will not be returning behind the bench next season. Instead, 25 year coaching veteran Ben Syer will be taking over as head coach. Bringing top-notch defensive acumen and an eye for recruiting, Syer hopes to lead the Tigers back to championship-level success.
After ten years, Princeton men’s hockey head coach Ron Fogarty will not be returning behind the bench next season. Instead, 25 year coaching veteran Ben Syer will be taking over as head coach. Bringing top-notch defensive acumen and an eye for recruiting, Syer hopes to lead the Tigers back to championship-level success.
Dartmouth demolition derby: Vinci breaks home run record as Tigers sweep series
Joseph UglialoroThe Tigers are currently second in the Ivy League standings and will play current top-seeded Columbia this weekend in New York City. The three-game series will determine the seeding for the Ivy League tournament.
The Tigers are currently second in the Ivy League standings and will play current top-seeded Columbia this weekend in New York City. The three-game series will determine the seeding for the Ivy League tournament.
