M. hoops defends home court vs. Holy Cross

The last time the men's basketball team started a season 2-0, a center named Steve Goodrich led the Tigers to an eventual 27-2 record and a top-10 national ranking.

Through two games this year, junior center Judson Wallace is doing his best Goodrich impression.

The Georgia native scored a career-high 31 points and pulled down nine rebounds while playing every minute of the game as Princeton topped Holy Cross last Friday, 61-55.

Wallace was 11-for-13 from the field, including three of five from beyond the arc. He was a perfect eight for eight inside the paint.

"On the inside, I only had to shoot layups the whole time," Wallace said. "I was the recipient of a lot of great passes."

One of those great passes came from sophomore guard Scott Greenman as the clock was running out on the first half. Greenman stole the ball in the frontcourt with 10 seconds left and heaved a desperation shot which was blocked. But the guard hustled to the loose ball and fed Wallace who was near the basket. Wallace released the ball while getting fouled just as the buzzer sounded. He made the foul shot, and the three-point conversion gave the Tigers a 31-26 halftime edge.

That play capped a furious 13-1 Princeton run over the last five minutes that turned a seven point Tiger deficit into a five-point lead. Down 25-18, junior guard Will Venable and freshman guard Luke Owings hit two three-pointers sandwiched around a Holy Cross free throw to pull Princeton within two at 26-24. A driving layup by senior guard Ed Persia, and another inside basket by Wallace gave the Tigers a two-point edge before Greenman's steal.

The second half picked up right where the first let off. With Owings starting the half on the floor, the Tigers came out crisply and energetically, opening a quick 39-27 lead. Then it was the Crusaders' turn. Following a few sloppy Princeton turnovers, Holy Cross went on a run of its own, eventually tying the game at 42 with just under nine minutes to play.

"We can't turn the ball over," head coach John Thompson said. "We got a little careless and they are a very good defensive team. But we need to be more careful with the ball."

With the game tied, all 4,430 fans in attendance knew where to look. Holy Cross knew where the ball was going. Thompson might as well have flashed a neon arrow right at his center. It didn't matter.

Wallace stepped behind the arc for the first time all game and canned it. After a Holy Cross bucket on the other end, Wallace again dialed from downtown and found his answer. Following a Persia steal and reverse layup, Wallace nailed his third and final trifecta, giving Princeton a 53-44 cushion that it would never relinquish.

"I think I'm among the best outside shooting centers in the country," Wallace said. "I'm not trying to be arrogant, but I worked on it a lot."

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Princeton better hope that Wallace's hot outside shooting continues. Of the team's 44 field goal attempts, just 17 were of the two-point variety. Though Holy Cross' two-three zone probably forced the Tigers to launch a few more outside shots than they otherwise might have, the squad regularly puts up half of its shots from outside.

Despite the win, several weaknesses were again exposed for Princeton. The Crusaders out-rebounded the Tigers, 32-23 overall and 15-7 on the offensive glass. Incredibly, Holy Cross had just one fewer offensive rebound (15) than Princeton had defensive rebounds (16). And though the Tigers did assist on 17 of their 22 field goals, they also turned the ball over 18 times, a statistic that will haunt them against stronger competition.

But there were many bright spots. Outside of Wallace, another bright spot for Princeton was the play of Owings. In just his second collegiate game, Owings scored 11 points on four-of-six shooting in 26 minutes of playing time.

"[Owings] played well tonight," Thompson said. "All [the freshmen] are capable of stepping up. Today he got the opportunity. He's very poised out there."