Ivy hopes shattered as m. hoops falls to Brown

PROVIDENCE, RI — It's rainin' three's! Hallelujah, hallelujah! Three-pointers were flying into the basket Friday and Saturday nights as the men's basketball team went 1-1 over the weekend, which potentially ruined the Tigers' chances for an Ivy League title.

After defeating Yale (12-13 overall, 6-6 Ivy League) on Friday night, Princeton (14-10, 8-3) needed to steal a victory from Brown (15-11, 10-2) in order to stay realistically in the Ivy League race.

The Tigers jumped out to an early lead against the Bears, leading, 11-4, with 15 minutes, 48 seconds left in the first half. They extended the lead to eight points with only 3:03 until halftime. Brown head coach Glen Miller called a timeout to stop the bleeding.

Momentum shift

Brown guard Jason Forte hit a three after the timeout, closing the gap to five. Princeton's junior center Konrad Wysocki subsequently hit a layup, but Brown put in two more momentum-shifting three-pointers to close out the half.

Princeton entered the locker room up one, 36-35, but licking its wounds, as the crowd screamed its happiness with the Bears.

"We had 'em there at the end of the first half," senior forward and captain Kyle Wente said. "They hit some threes and took momentum into the second half."

Brown kept pouring on the points after halftime. The team's first shot of the half was a made three-pointer from forward Patrick Powers just 54 seconds in. Princeton tied the game, 38-38, with 17:49 left, but the Tigers never led or tied for the rest of the game.

Princeton stayed within four points until Brown forward Harold Bailey knocked down yet another three-pointer at 11:24 following a reverse slam dunk from Princeton senior forward Ray Robins. Bailey's shot made the score 53-48, Brown.

Trials and tribulations

Much of Princeton's second-half tribulations came from foul trouble. The team's fourth foul came at 17:25 left in the game, and the fifth just over a minute later. Brown took advantage, making an amazing 88.2 percent (30-of-34) on its free throws.

"It seemed like half the team was in foul trouble," Wente said. "It put us back on our heels on defense, and when you're not aggressive, you've lost it."

Above all, Brown's Jason Forte made the Tigers pay for their foul trouble. Forte went 6-of-7 from the field, but ended the game with 30 points, thanks to an unblemished 14-of-14 from the free throw line.

"He controlled the game," Princeton head coach John Thompson said of Forte. "He dictated the game. He's a very, very good offensive player."

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Brown's talent was evident throughout the game, especially when shooting the ball. The Bears shot 58.5 percent on the game, including a blistering 68.2 percent in the second half, including a five-of-five performance shooting threes.

Those watching the game, however, saw one more factor in the comeback — the men in white and black.

"I'm not going to comment on the officiating," a visibly upset Thompson said. "But you guys saw the same game I saw."

When Princeton played Yale the night before, three-pointers fell from the rafters from the hands of Tiger players instead. Sophomore center Judson Wallace scored a career-high 23 points, which he quickly eclipsed by a point against Brown. Wallace made nine of his 15 combined attempts in the two games.

The Elis could not contain Princeton, which went on a 23-2 run in the middle of the second half, capped off by three Wallace free throws after being fouled shooting a three, which pushed the score to 27-10, Princeton. At halftime the Tigers led, 39-25.

Though Yale was able to come back within single digits, it did not give Princeton a real scare the rest of the night, and the Tigers took the game, 61-52.

Princeton was not singing "Hallelujah" after the weekend, and the Tigers can now only hope for a berth in the NIT, like they got last year afer losing the Ivy League title.