Men's basketball finishes surprising season with loss to UNC

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 North Carolina (26-6) jumped ahead early and finished strong, ending a successful Tiger season, 70-48, in the first round of the NCAA tournament Mar. 16.

Despite the lopsided score, merely reaching the tournament was an accomplishment for a team that few expected to compete in the Ivy League. Prior to the season, Princeton lost center and former captain Chris Young '02, who signed a professional baseball contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Then-head coach Bill Carmody left to become the coach at Northwestern only a week before classes were to begin. Later in September, Spencer Gloger, the team's leading three point shooter, transferred to UCLA. Three more players left the team during the early part of the season.

Into this void came John Thompson '88, promoted from assistant to head coach Sept. 6. At the time, some observers noted, publicly, that Princeton's cupboard was bare. But Thompson saw something others did not — he saw that there was a good deal of talent on his team, and he was the man to bring it to the surface.

The beginning of the Ivy League season brought four straight home wins for the Tigers, including a 66-62 nail-biter over Brown, Feb. 2. Princeton dropped its first road contest of the season to Dartmouth, Feb. 9, and the following night was trailing Harvard in the waning moments. The team seemed destined to fall out of first place in the Ivy standings. Then came the shot that saved the season.

Down by one to the Crimson, with 7.8 seconds left, the Tigers tried to inbound to point guard Ahmed El Nokali '02. The ball instead came to Kyle Wente '03, who hurried up court, looked to pass and then heaved a 28-foot prayer that miraculously found the net, giving the visitors a stunning 69-67 win.

The momentum from that game propelled Princeton to the Ivy title. The Tigers soundly defeated rival Penn in both of their usually-epic contests, including the finale which clinched the Ancient Eight crown for Princeton, Mar. 6. As the buzzer sounded on Princeton's 68-52 win, the orange-clad masses from the student section rushed onto the floor of Jadwin gym, rejoicing in the team's conquest.

Princeton earned a 15-seed in the NCAA tournament, and the right to take on the Tobacco Road juggernaut Tar Heels. Poor field goal shooting and an inability to stop UNC center Brendan Haywood put the Tigers in a 20-point hole at halftime.

Despite the ominous margin, Princeton refused to capitulate in the second half. Guard Ed Persia '04, who converted Princeton's second three-pointer in the waning moments of the first half, came out of the break 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.

"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."

Following an admonishment from their coach, 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.

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"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 the 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," Thompson 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."