Men's hoops overcomes Brown at home

Max Schafer was not in the game to shoot.

Sure, the freshman guard spent most of the second half on the court filling in for injured senior guard Ed Persia. And he performed superbly, suffocating Brown star Jason Forte on the defensive end of the floor. Still, the 32 percent shooter was undoubtedly the men's basketball team's last offensive option. But with just under six minutes left and the game knotted at 53, Schafer calmly caught a kick-out from junior forward Andre Logan and smoothly stroked a shot from the right corner directly in front of the Princeton bench. When the ball splashed softly through the twine, the unlikely hero had given the Tigers a lead they would never relinquish en route to a 68-61 win.

"I've shot so many like those, and it was nice to finally hit one," Schafer said. "I haven't exactly drained many of them."

As has become the norm, Princeton (15-7 overall, 8-1 Ivy League) started sluggishly at home on Saturday night and trailed 10-2 at the first media timeout. While the Tigers spent the first four minutes firing blanks and turning the ball over, Brown (11-12, 7-3) drained two quick threes to grab the lead.

Princeton's offense slowly began to find its rhythm, but Brown maintained its lead. In sharp contrast to the teams' previous meeting in Providence, R.I., the Bears' shooters repeatedly got wide-open looks. Head coach John Thompson '88 attributed the defensive breakdowns to over-rotating against penetration. For the second straight night, the Tigers would grab the momentum going into halftime, cutting a nine-point deficit at the four-minute mark to 29-28 at the break. Two freshman forwards provided a boost — Harrison Schaen grabbed several rebounds in traffic and Luke Owings buried an open three from the top of the arc.

As the second half began, both teams were hobbled by injury. Persia, who had taken a knee to the thigh and crashed to the floor midway through the first half, was unable to play after the break. The Tiger captain was limited to the role of Schafer's vociferous personal coach and cheerleader. Meanwhile, a twisted ankle slowed the normally lightening-quick Forte.

The squads traded surges, but neither was able to pull away. Princeton struck first, but the Bears knotted the score at 37 and then pulled ahead. Five straight points by junior forward Judson Wallace, including a three that bounced high of the rim and dropped through, tied it again at 48. Wallace finished with 20 points to lead the Tigers in one of their most offensively balanced performances of the season. Logan added 15 points and seven boards, while junior guard Will Venable chipped in 12 points and three steals. Brown also used a well-distributed attack, with four starters in double figures.

The Bears made one final push, going up 53-48 with 7:50 left when guard Patrick Powers emphatically slammed the ball home after a steal. But Princeton fought back again, setting up Schafer's three — his only points of the night — which pushed the already raucous crowd into a full-out frenzy.

The Tigers clung to their narrow lead, as Thompson rapidly made offense-for-defense substitutions and Schafer picked up a gassed Forte full court. With 2:15 to go, the exhausted-looking Bears wasted a chance to cut the lead to a single-possession, throwing the ball away.

Princeton ran almost a minute off the clock, thanks to Schaen's third offensive board, before Wallace drove and drew a foul. He sunk both foul shots, and the Tigers made seven of eight from the line in the last 1:09 to ice the game.

Princeton now holds a two-game cushion in the Ivy League race with five games left. March Madness, long just a distant dream, is now just four victories away.