Freshman guard Marcus Schroeder stood alone at the foul line. There were no players waiting for the rebound, not a single one even on his half of the court. The score was tied 43-43 and the clock read 0.0. Schroeder's shot hit the front of the rim, then ricocheted onto the back of the rim.
And then it fell through the net. Game over. Princeton wins.
After a Lehigh bucket by center Jason Mgebroff with 21.8 seconds remaining tied the game, the Tigers brought the ball down for the last shot. Senior guard Edwin Buffmire drove toward the basket with three seconds remaining and threw up what seemed like a prayer that harmlessly clanged off the rim, until Schroeder claimed the rebound.
Schroeder went up strong from seemingly behind the basket, but was grabbed by Lehigh forward Kyle Neptune. As the horn sounded, a shooting foul was called, sending Schroeder to the line with no time remaining.
"You try to just think about how many times you practice that shot," Schroeder said. "You try to think about your backyard, playing with your siblings or a couple of friends. I had a chance to win the game making a 15-foot wide open shot."
In order to arrive at that point, Princeton had to overcome a seven-point halftime deficit. Freshman guard Lincoln Gunn led the Tigers with 12 points — all in the second half — while junior forward Noah Savage chipped in eight and sophomore forward Mike Strittmatter turned in seven.
Buffmire and freshman center Zack Finley pulled down six rebounds each, while Finley also added two blocks.
Schroeder played all 40 minutes for the sixth time this season, finishing with three assists and five points — none more important than his game-winning free throw.
Slow first half
Princeton began the game with two quick points from Finley, but it wasn't until another six minutes after the first possession that the Tigers scored again. The Orange and Black waited until 10:39 remained in the half before they got another field goal, which came on a Strittmatter three.
The first half was marred by poor shooting by both teams, with Princeton shooting 35 percent from the field and Lehigh hitting 33 percent. Additionally, Princeton finished the half a meager 1-8 from beyond the arc and only 3-7 from the foul line, including the front ends of several one-and-one opportunities.
Poor shooting by Lehigh late in the first half kept Princeton in the game, as the Mountain Hawks led by as many as nine at 18-9 following a three-pointer and a thunderous dunk, before cooling off.
The Tigers were led in the first half by Strittmatter and Savage, who had five points apiece in the frame.
The second half saw an entirely different effort from Princeton. A Gunn three-pointer capped a 9-0 run over the first 4:45 after the break. Lehigh, however, fought back with a 9-0 run of its own that saw the Mountain Hawks regain their halftime lead. But from there on out the teams battled back and forth, with Princeton gaining a 35-34 lead after a monstrous dunk by Savage.
"It was a tale of two halves," head coach Joe Scott '87 said. "First half — standing around on the perimeter, shooting three-point shots. Second half — trying to get the ball inside, trying to pack it in around the glass."
Fortunately for Princeton, going inside allowed better looks for Gunn, who drilled three of five from beyond the arc in the second half, compared with bricking two in the first half. Throughout the game, however, the Tiger defense was rock-solid.
"Our defense is excellent," Scott said. "Our offense, for whatever reason ... we can't get going."
Scott was also skeptical of the final foul call.
"We're just lucky, when you get a call like that," Scott said. "We're just lucky. We have to play better so a call like that won't go against us. That's just pure luck there."
"I feel bad for the Lehigh guys. I've been on the other end of those before."
Schroeder, though, was more confident in the call.
"I got fouled pretty hard on that play," he said. "I kind of leaned into him, but he really brought both his arms down on me, took my arms out from me."
Foul or no foul, a win is a win for Princeton. The Tigers return to action Saturday at home against neighboring Big East foe Rutgers.
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