Owls stifle Tigers

Men's basketball head coach Joe Scott '87 knew Princeton would be forced to shoot a large number of three-pointers in the Tigers' matchup against Temple last night at Jadwin Gym. He joked afterward that he wasn't sure before the game if his team would make a single two-point shot.

Scott wasn't far off: Temple's vaunted matchup-zone defense lived up to its billing, keeping Princeton's offense sputtering much of the night and carrying the Owls (4-2 overall) to a 60-47 victory.

Princeton (1-4) shot 30 three-pointers — making 11 — and sank just four shots from inside the three-point line all night long.

"We are who we are," Scott said. "They just make it even more glaring."

After taking a 25-15 halftime lead, Temple led by as much as 20 in the second half. Sophomore forward Noah Savage led a late Tiger rally that cut the Owls' lead to 54-47 with two minutes, 32 minutes left to play, but Princeton couldn't come any closer.

Savage scored a gameand career-high 21 points, despite struggling from outside early on. But Savage scored 15 second-half points, including a trio of trifectas during the Tigers' late run.

"I just kept thinking, I can't believe I'm missing this many shots," a frustrated Savage said. "I thought I was going to make the next one every time."

Savage was also the lone Tiger able to make anything happen inside, scoring all four of Princeton's two-point buckets.

At one point it looked as if Princeton might go the entire game without scoring inside, but Savage worked the ball inside with a little over four minutes left in the first half. Surrounded by defenders, he jumped high to secure the rebound and fought through a sea of hands for the basket and ensuing foul shot, which he made to ensure that Princeton's score remained divisible by three, bringing the score to 17-12.

Both Temple and Princeton play a similar defense, but on offense, the two squads play a very different brand of basketball. While the Tigers patiently passed around the perimeter, Temple took the opposite approach. The Owls' guards dribbled and spun, faked and drove their way to the basket for closer shots and a higher rate of success.

"Temple is good at what they do," Scott said. "I like them, you know what they're going to do. I have tons of respect for them."

Injured Tigers

Injuries left the Tigers short at the point guard position, contributing to the their offensive woes. The combination of sloppy ball-handling and the pressure from Temple led to 15 turnovers, including nine in the first half.

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Senior guard Scott Greenman started, but sat down after just seven minutes due to a back injury sustained getting out of his car earlier in the day. Since usual backup sophomore guard Matt Sargeant is out indefinitely — Scott said he might have a stress fracture — and junior Max Schafer did not dress for the game due to personal reasons, sophomore guard Kevin Steuerer was left to lead the team on the floor for the final 33 minutes.

Steuerer, who saw his first action of the season against Colgate on Saturday, looked timid at first but gained confidence as the game wore on and Greenman did not return.

"You're a little nervous and excited at first," Steuerer said of his first significant playing time, "but your instincts take over and you start playing basketball."

Scott had nothing but praise for Steuerer, who played just two minutes last season.

"Where he was when he got here to where he is now is a testament to Kevin Steuerer," Scott said. "He's really done something about the things he had to get better at."

Greenman's injury is bad news for the Tigers, but Scott feels the discovery of Steuerer, who contributed five assists, might be an upside.

Scott also praised the steady play of junior Pat Ekeruo, who played all 40 minutes in his second start at center. Ekeruo was perfect from the line and led the team in rebounds, with seven, for the second straight game.

Sophomore center Harrison Schaen did not play. After starting the first three games of the season, Schaen played limited minutes off the bench against Colgate on Saturday.

"This would have been an extremely hard game for him," Scott said. "We're thinking about moving him to the forward spot so we can get stuff out of him. I don't know if center is the right thing for him right now."