After two wins in the friendly confines of Jadwin Gym, the men's basketball team took to the road last night, defeating University of Maryland Baltimore-County, 68-56, in the first of five consecutive road games.
Princeton (3-0 overall) took care of an overmatched opponent, using a balanced scoring effort to earn the win. Unlike Princeton's first two games in which junior center Judson Wallace alone carried the team to victory, Princeton had four players score in double figures.
While Wallace again led the way with 16 points and nine rebounds, senior forward Konrad Wysocki added 15 points, and sophomore guard Scott Greenman chipped in with 12. Six of those 12 came on big three point shots to end Retriever rallies.
Senior guard and captain Ed Persia had a good all around game with 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Princeton opened an early 10-2 lead over UMBC, but the contest went back and forth the rest of the way. The Retrievers cut the lead to five late in the first half but could not get any closer.
The Tigers shot 56 percent from the floor, continuing their hot shooting. In addition, Princeton outrebounded its opponents, 30-24, a welcome change from last season when the Tigers were last in the Ivy League in that category.
The closest the Retrievers came in the second half was 33-28, but the Tigers slowly pulled away to secure the victory. After UMBC cut it to 41-34, Greenman hit a floater in the lane to push the lead to nine.
Throughout the second half, the Tigers played within the confines of the offense, and the results spoke for themselves, as Princeton turned a five point halftime lead into an 18 point cushion.
"When we run our offense, it looks great," assistant coach Howard Levy said. Princeton hit a number of backdoor layups, many of which were opened up by the inside presence of Wallace, Wysocki and junior forwards Mike Stephens and Andre Logan.
Logan made his return to the court last night after missing the early part of the season due to torn tendons in his wrist. After checking in early in the second half, he had an immediate impact, driving into the lane and dishing to Wallace for an easy layup.
Logan showed flashes of his old self, chipping in a couple of rebounds and assists, along with three points.
The Tigers consistently took advantage of openings in the middle of the Retriever defense to drive and dish to open teammates either cutting to the basket for layups or behind the arc for open looks.
"In our offense, you don't have to get a shot because you have other guys to back you up," Levy said.
The Tigers travel to California tomorrow for the McCaffrey Classic.
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