Last Stop: New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS, Mar. 16 — Playing an opponent with superior size and speed, Princeton's execution needed to be perfect to escape with a victory, but the Tigers came up short.

Some missed shots, a slow start, and a severe height disadvantage doomed No. 15 seed Princeton (16-11 overall) as the No. 2 seed Tarheels (26-6) jumped ahead early and finished strong, ending a successful Tiger season, 70-48, in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

During pregame warm-ups, Princeton seemed nervous. The Tigers missed an inordinate number of shots, and a general chill seemed to hang over the team. Then senior captain Nate Walton gathered his teammates near the foul line and settled his troops. Following the brief huddle, Princeton had a renewed sense of calm going into the opening tip.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, it was short lived. The Tar Heels scored the game's first eight points, and it was not until sophomore forward Kyle Wente cut down the lane for a layup nearly three minutes into the contest that Princeton got on the scoreboard.

Though Princeton was able to find some clear looks at the basket in the early going, the Tigers continued their poor marksmanship — converting only two-of-13 three point attempts in the first half.

"It was a difficult game to play," North Carolina head coach Matt Doherty said. "Princeton is a difficult opponent to prepare for. I think we really set the tone early and played some good defense in holding them to 29-percent shooting in the first half. I think we are fortunate to be here and play another day."

On the other side of the floor, North Carolina's seven-foot center Brendan Haywood dominated the Ivy champions — whose tallest starter is six-feet, seven-inches tall. Haywood was perfect from the floor in the first half, pacing the Tar Heels with 11 points and helping them to a 36-16 lead at halftime.

"Once you dig yourself a hole against a good team, that's as hard as it gets," Walton said.

Despite the ominous halftime differential, Princeton refused to capitulate in the second half. Freshman guard Ed Persia, who converted Princeton's second three-pointer in the waning moments of the first half, came out of the break as a man possessed. In a two-minute, 34-second span, Persia scored 10 points to help pull the resilient Tigers within twelve.

Persia drained a three while coming off a screen to start his run and then buried another shot from beyond the arc one minute later. Energized by his marksmanship, Persia pressured the ball as North Carolina brought it up the court and drew an offensive foul for his efforts. Moments later, Persia elicited 'oohs' and 'aahs' from the Superdome crowd as he took Tar Heel forward Jason Capel off the dribble and drove for a layup. Persia completed his streak the next time down court, when he sliced to the basket, received a pass from Walton and layed it in.

When Wente converted a layup off a feed from Walton moments later, Princeton had closed the lead to 12 and North Carolina was forced to call a timeout. As both teams headed to the benches with the score 46-34, every fan in the Superdome not wearing Carolina Blue cheered in perhaps the loudest roar the crowd created on the evening.

"I just tried to come in and give the team some energy," Persia said. "People have been stepping up all year and hitting shots. It was just my turn."

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Following an admonishment from Doherty, the Tar Heels slowly extended the lead over the remainder of the game. Though the ACC runners-up did not slam the door on the Tigers, they prevented Princeton from making a comeback.

As the Tar Heel lead swelled down the stretch, Walton continued playing hard in his last game in an orange and black uniform. The Tiger captain drew a holding foul on Tar Heel forward Kris Lang as he cut towards the basket to receive a pass. On the night, Walton led the Tigers with nine rebounds and seven assists.

"It's something you've got to deal with the rest of your life," Walton said. "As a basketball player you always take the losses harder."

While the sting of tonight's loss may linger for a little while, it does not in the least bit overshadow a surprising Princeton season.

"It's hard to sit here after a loss and realize how good the year was and what this group accomplished," head coach John Thompson '88 said. "The whole senior class made tremendous sacrifices. They do understand [what they've done] but they're competitors. That's part of the reason for the success we had in the second half of the year."

A team that few expected to compete in the Ivy League carried itself with dignity on the game's biggest stage, falling to one of the top teams in the nation.

"I want to say what our team accomplished this year was tremendous," Thompson said. "We played a good team tonight, a very good team. They don't have too many weaknesses."