Men's basketball surges to 4-0 in Ivy League play

In its past three games, the men's basketball team has resembled a student oversleeping a 10 a.m. class. The Tigers awoke from their hibernation, stumbled out the door, and hustled themselves toward their desired goal — a pair of victories in their second Ivy League weekend.

Playing its first game in sixteen days, Princeton defeated The College of New Jersey, 69-59, Jan. 29 in its annual post-exam period wake-up game against a Division III opponent. Friday, the Tigers knocked off a resilient Brown squad, 66-62, and followed that performance with a 62-49 win over Yale the next night. The wins vaulted Princeton (9-7 overall, 4-0 Ivy League) into a first place tie with Penn (7-11, 4-0) atop the Ancient Eight standings.

"It was a good weekend for us," head coach John Thompson '88 said. "I thought the guys played hard. It was good to see our guys in our [home] white uniforms."

Indeed, the TCNJ contest marked only the fifth home game of the season for the vagabond Tigers. The first 20 minutes against the Lions featured some unsightly play at both ends as Princeton tried to wipe the sleep from its eyes while playing their in-state opposition. Senior center Nate Walton seemed refreshed by the break in the schedule and managed to pick up the slack for his soporific teammates.

On Princeton's opening possession, Walton received an entry pass on the left block, turned and converted a left-handed baby-hook shot over Lion center Rich Wilson. Moments later, showing no signs of ankle troubles that plagued him earlier in the season, Walton hurried down the court giving Princeton a 4-0 lead. The Tiger captain outplayed Wilson on both ends, finishing the game with a career high 26 points in addition to 10 rebounds and three assists.

"Nate scored tonight," Thompson said. "We probably need to start throwing it to him and letting him do that a little more. The kid's a damn good player. He's probably the best passer who ever played here."

While the layoff did help the Tigers with their injury troubles, they were not able to remove all of the thorns from their paws. Freshman forward Andre Logan missed the TCNJ game with a sore shoulder, while leading scorer Mike Bechtold, who scored 15 against the Lions, did not dress for the weekend action because of a recurring foot injury.

Without its leading scorer, Princeton would have to turn to other sources to carry the offense against a surprisingly strong Brown (6-12, 1-4) team. In the first half, the home side spread the wealth among its starters, with three players scoring at least 10 points before intermission.

Despite warnings from Thompson during the week about his prowess, Brown forward Alai Nuualiitia seemed to catch the Tiger big men napping early in the game. Playing behind Nuualiitia in Princeton's matchup zone, Walton allowed the Bear big man to receive passes unhindered, which in turn led to several easy baskets in the early going. Sparked by Nuualiitia's dozen points, the Bears kept the game even and both squads went to the locker room tied at 32.

"We were just watching him score," Thompson said. "As the game progressed our interior players got more intense."

Throughout the second stanza, Princeton's defense swarmed Nuualiitia, allowing him to score only three points for the remainder of the game. In so doing, the Tigers became vulnerable on the perimeter, where Brown guard Jesse Wood and forward Mike Martin vaulted Brown into the lead with three-point shots.

Princeton's sophomore guard Kyle Wente, however, countered Brown's stealthy shooters, scoring 14 points in the second half. Wente's outside shooting sliced into Brown's early second-half lead and his four free throws down the stretch set the stage for the bizarre climax.

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Following a failed baseline drive by Tiger senior guard C.J. Chapman, Brown gained possession trailing 64-62 with over a minute remaining.

The Bears missed two shots but maintained possession on strong offensive rebounding and by scrapping for loose balls. With 17.5 seconds left, Brown inbounded the ball and handed it to swift guard Earl Hunt. Hunt dribbled on the right wing, then drove hard down the middle, putting up a floater from 10 feet. Logan read the play perfectly, elevated high in the air and swatted Hunt's attempt away from the basket.

Chapman grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled by Martin. Brown coach Glenn Miller, enraged over the lack of a foul call on Hunt's shot, berated the officials, who responded by charging him with a technical foul and ejecting him from the game. Chapman stepped to the line to shoot four free throws, and converted two to seal the win.

"We were lucky to get out of here with a win," Thompson said.

Saturday night, Princeton jumped out to an early lead against Yale, but struggled to pull away from the wounded Elis. Yale's senior center Neil Yanke did not dress because of injury, which allowed Princeton to gear its defense towards shutting down guard Chris Leanza, who did not register a point until the second half.

Wente again paced the Tigers with 17 points, while freshman guard Ed Persia, junior guard Ahmed El-Nokali and Logan each scored in double digits.

Throughout the season, even with starters missing time due to injury, other Tigers have managed to elevate their game and fill the void.

In December, Logan rose to the occasion when Walton and Bechtold were felled with foot troubles. Jan. 29, it was Walton well-rested and making a statement against TCNJ. Against Brown and Yale it was Wente, whose touch from beyond the arc and timely defensive play earned Princeton two victories and woke them from their exam period slumber.