Tigers survive late surge

This year's men's basketball team may be following the Ivy League Champion football team's formula for success: play your way to a deficit in the first half, then play your way right back out of it in the second half to secure the win. Though basketball head coach Joe Scott '87 would like to see 40 solid minutes from his guys, why do that if you can win it with just 15?

After allowing Lafayette (1-6 overall) to jump out to a 7-0 lead, the Tigers (4-1) overcame a 22-19 halftime deficit with a 10-0 run after the break to eke out a 44-42 victory over the Leopards Tuesday night in Easton, Pa.

"In the first half they were scoring points because of our mistakes on defense," junior forward Kyle Koncz said, but the team regrouped to shut out the Leopards over the first four minutes, 24 seconds after the break.

Princeton dominated the second half, building up as much as a nine-point lead, until the final five minutes when the team started to unravel as the Leopards applied full court pressure.

Up 42-34 at that point, Princeton tallied its only remaining points off two free throws over the rest of the game, squandering two other attempts at the charity stripe. The Tigers were just 50 percent from the line on the game. Princeton also hurt itself by turning the ball over three times during the final stretch.

"You have to expect some kind of trap [at the end of the game], and I think it took us by surprise," Scott said. "And you have to make foul [shots]. It's the foul shooting all along the way; it's not necessarily the foul shooting at the four-minute mark."

With 55 seconds on the clock and a five-point Tiger lead, guard Matt Betley drove in to score a layup and drew a foul from senior forward Justin Conway, causing him to foul out after six points in 32 minutes. Betley sunk the free throw, and suddenly, the Tigers were clinging to a two-point lead.

The Tigers were cautious on the next possession to use up the clock but were unable to score, as a trey attempt by freshman guard Lincoln Gunn clunked out in form characteristic of the night, leaving the struggling rookie one for seven on the evening.

The Leopards called a timeout to prepare for their final attempt, and Scott huddled his team to strategize for the final moments of the game.

"We just zeroed in on not giving up a three-point shot," Scott said. "I knew they were going to run around and try to confuse us in some form or fashion."

Princeton's defense worked well enough, as Koncz forced a horrible layup attempt by Lafayette guard Andrew Brown, who brought the ball beneath his legs and scooped it toward the backboard, before sophomore center Mike Strittmatter came up with the rebound as time expired.

Shooting, passing solid

"I thought it took us a little bit of time early on; we're still in the growing stage of learning that, you know what, we could be a pretty good basketball team," Scott said. "I thought we came out in the second half and executed extremely well, the first 15 minutes of the second half I thought were terrific."

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The terrific play included shooting 58 percent from the field, highlighted by senior Luke Owings scoring nine of his 12 points in the second half. After taking 15 of their 21 shot attempts from three-point range in the first half, the Tigers did a better job of taking the ball inside during the second half.

Conway tallied two hook shots around the basket just after the break, and freshman guard Marcus Schroeder scored on a back door pass from Owings, as the Lafayette defense spread out to cover the long distance attack.

Koncz was characteristically brilliant, tallying 12 points on four-for-seven shooting from three-point range, including one during the 10-0 run that was easily from NBA range.

"Juniors and seniors are supposed to play well every night," Scott said of Koncz's improved consistency this season. "They defend, they rebound, they take care of the ball and they play well every single night. And that's when your shots go in too, though [Koncz] has to keep doing it to cement the consistency."

Frosh showing potential

Schroeder is still just a freshman, but he played like a veteran until the game's final minutes, when the pressure and his 40 minutes on the court started to wear on him. Still, he has been running the offense like a veteran and was the team's leader on the boards with five defensive rebounds. He has exceeded Scott's expectations, and the coach has no plans to give him a rest.

"The kid's unbelievable — he's just tougher than nails," Scott said. "Every game he doesn't turn it over, he rebounds the ball, he gets steals and he causes havoc for the other team."