Men's basketball defeats Colgate in home-opener

In front of a large and vociferous crowd — attracted by the dual promise of a new season and free pizza — the men's basketball team began its 2003-04 campaign with a 73-64 defeat of Colgate on Friday night.

As had become routine by the end of last year, junior center Judson Wallace led the way for Princeton. With a combination of devastating inside force and deft hook shots, he scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

"Once the hook got going, it was easy," Wallace said. "When guys see me open and get the ball to me, all I have to do is put it in."

An auspicious start

The game began auspiciously for the Tigers, as Wallace, senior forward Konrad Wysocki and junior guard Will Venable repeatedly abused the Colgate with trademark backdoor cuts.

Throughout the first half, the Tigers picked apart the Raider defense with pinpoint passing, assisting on 12 of 15 baskets. They opened up an eight-point lead after sophomore guard Scott Greenman and Wallace drained back-to-back three-pointers, prompting the Raiders' coach to take a timeout with 8:17 left in the half.

The Tiger lead would hover on the verge of double digits until early in the second half, when Princeton blew the game open with a 17-4 run over a five-minute span. Wallace's left-handed hook with 14:44 to play pushed the lead to 51-30.

The offensive barrage included perhaps the best play of the night. After stealing the ball from Colgate for the second straight time, senior guard Ed Persia streaked down the right side of the court and shoveled a perfectly-placed behind-the-back pass to Greenman, who softly laid it off the glass with his left hand.

But just when it looked like the rout was on, the Tigers sputtered. Princeton managed just one basket over the next six and a half minutes. Meanwhile, Colgate used multiple second chances to cut the lead to 12. Head coach John Thompson '88 characterized the Tigers' rebounding and boxing-out as "awful." Leading the charge was forward Howard Blue, who tallied 23 points and 14 rebounds, eight of them offensive. While Wallace took responsibility for the rebounding breakdowns, in truth the entire Tiger team lost focus after building a lead.

"There was a four or five minute lull," Thompson said. "We missed foul shots, they made foul shots, and the whole flow of the game changed. Things got a little anxious there for a minute."

Wallace leads the charge

Down the stretch, the ball went to Wallace on nearly every possession. He scored 11 points in the final eight minutes despite taking a beating from an aggressive Colgate defense. Several times, he winced in pain while attempting to stretch his back — which has been inflamed — but he never came out of the game.

"I want the ball when it's tight," he said. "That's my nature."

While Wallace plugged onward, the rest of the Tigers went ice cold, allowing the Raiders to inch ever closer. A three-point play by Blue cut the lead to 61-56 with 3:59 to go. Princeton would regroup, however, after the final media timeout. Wallace grabbed several key rebounds and the Tigers' free throw shooting improved enough to stave off any further rally. Their performance was by no means perfect, but it was good enough.

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Given that the game was its first of the season, Princeton executed its offense fairly well for most of the night. The starting five looked especially sharp when on the floor together. Greenman's off-season improvement was particularly notable. After looking overmatched in limited playing time last year, he ran the offense with aplomb.

"He looked like he's looked to us all fall," Thompson said. "He's more comfortable with what we need him to do."

One of the loudest cheers of the night came at the 12-minute mark, when forward Luke Owings became the first member of the heralded freshman class to check into the game.

Indeed, three freshmen would appear on the night: Owings, guard Max Schafer and forward Patrick Ekeruo. While none of them made a large impact on the score sheet, all three contributed solid minutes after overcoming early jitters.

While their debut bodes well for the future, ultimately, it would not be the freshmen's night. Instead, it was Princeton's Mr. Reliable who made the difference.

Spurred on by a promise that he would score at least 18 points in honor of his brother's eighteenth birthday, Wallace alone among those on the court played as if in midseason form.