M. hoops takes on two Ivy foes

Junior guard Will Venable's three-point play in the last seconds of Saturday's game against Yale, which gave Princeton a 49-47 win, was a dramatic finish to a close contest.

That finish may have given the Tigers huge confidence in their ability to come through in close games. But Princeton (9-6 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) hopes it doesn't have to rely on such last-minute heroics when struggling squads Dartmouth (3-15, 1-3) and Harvard (2-16, 1-3) come to town this weekend.

Against these two teams, Princeton plays its first games without senior forward Konrad Wysocki, who left the team this week because of "confrontations and conflicts," as he wrote in an email letter yesterday to the 'Prince.'

Though a versatile player who started eight games this season, Wysocki had seen less playing time over recent games since the return of junior forward Andre Logan. The team will miss his ability to step in whenever and wherever needed.

"Whether we needed him at forward or center, Konrad [Wysocki] was always able to play both," junior center Mike Stephens said. "We wish him luck."

Dartmouth

The Big Green will enter tonight looking for its first win at Princeton in 17 years. A wealth of young talent adds to the team's core of returning players, which came within five points of defeating the Tigers at Jadwin in 2003.

"Dartmouth has pretty much the same team as last year which gave us trouble at home," Venable said.

A significant addition to that team helps the Big Green stay competitive in the league. Freshman guard Leon Pattman, the Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the last five of six weeks, leads Dartmouth in steals (20), scoring (13.9 points per game), rebounds (4.9 per game) and free-throw percentage (.870).

Pattman will lead the Big Green quest to end its three-game league slump. Since downing Harvard in overtime Jan. 3, Dartmouth has lost to the Crimson as well as Columbia and Cornell.

The Big Green's offense should provide a near mirror image of Princeton's own, which could be for each both an advantage on defense and a disadvantage on offense.

"They run our offense so we know what each other is going to do," senior guard Ed Persia said. "They have a bunch of dead-eye shooters whom we have to watch out for."

Harvard, which faces off against the Tigers on Saturday, is also hungry for its second Ivy win of the season after splitting games with Dartmouth. Like the Big Green, however, history is against the Crimson — Harvard has not won at Princeton since 1989.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

The Crimson is not particularly young — Harvard starts three juniors and two sophomores — but the team has lost a great amount of experience since last year.

"Harvard lost their entire starting five this year, so I imagine it is a little difficult for some younger players stepping into more dominate roles," Stephens said.

Still, several Crimson players have shown promise in filling roles left by graduating seniors. Junior guard Kevin Rogus boasts 16.0 ppg, thanks in part to his perimeter shooting. He has attempted almost as many three-pointers (141) as the rest of his team combined, connecting on 42 of those attempts. Sophomore forward Matt Stehle adds 13.0 ppg for Harvard's offense.

"They have two or three really athletic guys who know how to get to the free throw line," Persia said.

Can't fall asleep

The Tigers agree that despite both teams' less-than-stellar records, they cannot overlook either one as they seek to match last season's 4-0 Ivy start.

"Both teams this weekend have guys that are near the top of our league in scoring, so we will have to continue to be attentive defensively and be precise on offense," junior forward Judson Wallace said.

Venable echoed Wallace's caveat, stressing the importance of these home victories. With two more wins this weekend, Princeton can keep itself in the frontrunner position to earn the Ivy title.

"Every game in this league means just as much as the other," Venable said. "At the end of the season, it isn't important who you beat but how many wins you have."

Who knows whether Princeton has another dramatic finish up its sleeve? The Tigers simply hope to get the job done in any way they can to keep alive their strong start to the league season.