NEW YORK -- For the first time this Ivy League season, following Friday night's 68-59 victory over Columbia (12-13 overall, 3-9 Ivy League), the men's basketball team (13-12, 4-7) could have enjoyed a post-game meal at T.G.I.F.'s without each bite being laced with the bitter taste of irony.
Sophomore forward Luke Owings scored 10 of his game-high 19 points during a key 12-4 run early in the second half. The run gave the Tigers the lead for good and ensured that they would finally open a league weekend with a win after starting the Ivy season 0-4 on Fridays.
Perhaps the most significant thing about the run, which put Princeton up 49-42 with nine minutes, 23 seconds remaining in the game, was that it was not followed by another of the collapses that have plagued Princeton this season.
When Columbia forward Matt Preston charged down the lane for an acrobatic layup four minutes later, bringing the Tigers' lead down to three points and knocking down senior center Judson Wallace in the process, Princeton refused to fold. On the ensuing possession, Wallace pulled himself and his team back up with an authoritative post move and inside basket. His layup sparked a 10-0 Tiger run, which gave Princeton an insurmountable 63-50 advantage with just under two minutes remaining.
Though Lions guard Jeremiah Boswell made the remainder of the game interesting, pouring in seven of his 13 points over the final 1:44, the Tigers held their lead, remaining cool under Columbia's full-court pressure.
Senior guard Will Venable, who pushed the tempo all night long while racking up nine points, seven assists and three steals, turned what has been his team's Achilles' heel all season into a strength, beating the Lions' press with precision passing that led to fast breaks. On one such play, he connected with junior guard Scott Greenman, who was darting to the basket, for the Tigers' final bucket of the night.
"I put all [the team's success against the press] on the guards," Owings said. "Scotty [Greenman], [sophomore guard] Max [Schafer] and Will [Venable] were breaking the pressure every time and making the passes to split the defense."
Greenman also continued to display the impressive shooting touch that he has showcased since Ivy League play began, scoring 15 points and connecting on three of four three-point attempts. As a team, Princeton shot 53.8 percent from beyond the arc and 54.1 percent overall.
One first-half stretch in which the Tigers went cold, however, almost cost them the game. After a back-and-forth opening 12 minutes of play, Columbia went on a 14-4 run, taking a 32-24 lead with 2:39 remaining in the half. Back-to-back three-point plays by Lion forward John Baumann, who finished with a team-high 14 points off the bench, capped the run.
Points off turnovers
From that point on, though, Columbia suffered from sloppy play, and Princeton, spurred on by Venable, made the Lions pay with a 10-0 run to head into the locker room with a 34-32 lead. Columbia turned the ball over three times in the final 1:25, and Princeton responded by running the floor to perfection.
On one fast break, Venable flew in for a layup high off the glass. The next time down the court, he found freshman forward Noah Savage, who scored seven of his nine points in the first half, slashing down the lane for a bucket.
The final points of the half came on a pair of free throws by Greenman with three seconds remaining, the result of yet another Princeton fast break. Wallace began this one by flipping the ball to Greenman at half court after diving on the floor to grab another Columbia turnover.
"Our centers were making some great passes out there," Owings said. "I think passing is something our team as a whole has been doing a better job of."
The Tigers were also able to capitalize all night long on poor ball-handling by the Lions. Boswell and Preston, Columbia's two leading scorers and only senior starters, were responsible for 13 of their team's 23 turnovers on the night.
The chaos peaked for the Lions in the final moments of the game. With 37 seconds left and Columbia attempting to erase Princeton's seven-point lead, Lion center Matt Land called a timeout while sliding out of bounds after hauling in a loose ball. Columbia had no timeouts remaining, however, so the Lions were hit with a technical foul.
Greenman knocked down the subsequent two free throws, adding to the Lions' frustrations, which boiled over on their next possession. Following a scrum over a loose ball, Land began jawing with Venable, and the two players had to be separated by teammates.
Only Venable, though, walked away knowing he had just led his team to a gutsy victory and the first winning streak of its Ivy League season.
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