Balanced offense gives Tigers 'W'

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — After almost a week of being bashed as "only a bunch of three-point shooters," the men's basketball team defended its honor yesterday afternoon, proving that its perimeter-oriented style can win games — as long as the Tigers don't only shoot three-pointers.

In a decisive 64-54 win over Lehigh (1-3 overall), Princeton (1-1) made its fair share of long-range buckets, shooting eight-of-15 from beyond the arc. But what led to the Tigers' many good looks from the outside stemmed from a consistent, multi-pronged inside attack that was sorely lacking in their season-opening loss to Drexel.

Embodying Princeton's newfound offensive balance were sophomore forward Noah Savage and junior forward Luke Owings, who led the way with 18 and 17 points, respectively. The two not only combined for five three-pointers, but also stayed true to their roles as frontcourt leaders by fighting through the lane and in to the post. Owings also led the team in rebounds, with seven.

"I thought Savage and Owings were very good today," head coach Joe Scott '87 said. "They played terrific in all areas of the game, whether it was rebounding, defense, making shots or scoring in the post."

In the opening minutes of the first half, the Tigers made a deliberate push into the paint on offense, and though they took a while to get acclimated to the new surroundings, the strategy paid off as the game progressed.

After sophomore center Harrison Schaen and junior center Patrick Ekeruo knocked down hook shots in the opening minutes, the Mountain Hawk defenders eased away from the three-point line, freeing the Tigers for open jump shots earlier in the shot clock.

Owings, who struggled to find his shot against Drexel, was the first player to reap the benefits of Princeton's balanced attack. Five minutes, 39 seconds into the first half, Owings knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the arc to give the Tigers their first lead of the game, 9-8.

Owings' outside shooting proved to be contagious, as four of Princeton's final seven buckets before halftime were three-pointers. Owings finished the half with nine points, connecting on all three of his shots from beyond the arc.

Savage, meanwhile, picked up right where he left off in posting a team-high 15 points in the opener. He scored eight first-half points against Lehigh, not only hitting a three, but also knocking down a hook shot and slashing in for a reverse layup.

"I definitely came into the game with the strategy that I was going to try to post up," Savage said. "That's why, later on, I came out [behind the three-point line], and I was wide open."

As efficient as the offense was, the Tigers' 28-16 lead after 20 minutes of play was as much a product of their aggressive defense. The Mountain Hawks were held to a first-half shooting percentage of 25 percent, with the most demoralizing miss coming when Ekeruo hustled downcourt to swat away three-point try by Kyle Neptune, who never saw him coming.

Ekeruo, a walk-on who appeared in only one game for Princeton last year, provided a critical boost off the bench for the Tigers on both sides of the court. Improbably, Ekeruo attempted a game-high nine field goals, making four. His 21 minutes of playing time were three times the total logged by starting center Schaen, who collected four early fouls.

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Defensively, Ekeruo and company turned Lehigh's offense into the same kind of one-dimensional unit he helped Princeton avoid reverting to itself.

Unable to establish any presence in the post, the Mountain Hawks turned to explosive guard Jose Olivero, whom the Tiger guards harassed into a one-of-seven performance from the field.

While the other Lehigh players stood and watched Olivero try to penetrate on their side of the court, Princeton's offense opened the second half in sync. Again, Owings and Savage led the way.

The Tigers' first field goal after halftime came on an alley-oop pass from junior guard Max Schafer that resulted in an Owings layup. A little over a minute later, a Savage three-pointer made the score 36-20, and Princeton's lead was 16.

The scoring differential hovered around that comfortable point for the rest of the half, until, with 53 seconds remaining in the game, a pair of Savage free throws made the score 62-43, and Princeton's lead was 19, the largest of the game.

Neptune went on to score eight of his game-high 22 points for Lehigh over the remaining seconds, but though he managed to cut the Tigers' final margin of victory down to 10 points, he could not downgrade the positive feelings this game generated for Princeton.

"The best thing about this game," Scott said, "was that our guys know how and why we won the game. They did it, and now they know that they can do it. It's a simple sort of formula."

All that was missing, the Tigers discovered, was a little potency in the post.