Beautiful weather. Nationally televised games. Building on a still-undefeated record. These were the things that the men's basketball team had to look forward to as it traveled to Hawaii for the prestigious EA Sports Maui Invitational at the beginning of the week.
The Tigers (2-2 overall) got the weather and the television exposure. Princeton's record, however, went from perfect to anything but as the Tigers followed up their opening-round loss to No. 10 Duke on Monday with a discouraging 61-42 loss to Arizona State (1-1) last night.
The battle with the Sun Devils began well enough for the Tigers, as senior forward Kyle Koncz and sophomore guard Marcus Schroeder made consecutive three-pointers to give Princeton an early 6-2 lead.
Though Arizona State went ahead less than five minutes later and the Tigers spent much of the remainder of the first half playing catchup, they were able to keep the game close thanks to Schroeder's hot shooting. While Koncz went cold after his early three — missing all nine of his subsequent attempts from beyond the arc — Schroeder put together a 10-point first half on four-of-five shooting.
As the second half began, Princeton was still within striking range, trailing 31-27. An 11-2 Sun Devil run coming out of the locker room, however, put the Tigers in a hole they would stay in for the rest of the game. Arizona State's final 19-point margin of victory came after Princeton managed just two points in the final seven minutes of the game.
The Sun Devils relied on their efficient offense to stay in front of Princeton, shooting over 51 percent from the floor for the game. The talented freshman duo of James Harden and Ty Abbott provided much of the Arizona State firepower, netting 22 and 19 points, respectively.
The game was an uncharacteristically sloppy one for the Tigers, as they shot barely 34 percent from the field and committed 15 turnovers next to just 10 assists.
Poor three-point shooting was Princeton's most glaring weakness. The Tigers went five-for-25 from distance, making just one-of-12 threes in the second half.
Schroeder led the Tigers with 12 points, while senior forward Noah Savage and sophomore center Zach Finley added eight apiece. Finley led the Tigers in rebounding with five, while sophomore guard Lincoln Gunn's four assists were a team high. Used exclusively as an off-guard last season, Gunn has seen increased time running the point this season, reflected in his average of over four assists per game, nearly twice as high as any other Tiger's.
While each of the Princeton starters finished with more than five points, the team received just four points from its bench on one-for-eight shooting from the field.
Having dropped its first two games in Maui, Princeton will face Chaminade (1-2) at 2 p.m. today in the Invitational's last-place game. The Silverswords are the hosts of the tournament and took advantage of home-court advantage in near upsets of Louisiana State and Marquette in the Invitational's opening two rounds.
Chaminade will be led by seniors Stewart Kussler and Marko Kolaric, the team's leading returning scorers, who averaged 12.1 and 11.4 points per game last season, respectively.
Kussler, a six-foot, five-inch forward, finished last season with one of the nation's highest field-goal percentages, at 55 percent. He also added 5.3 rebounds per game.
The Silverswords rely upon Kolaric, a seven-foot Serb, as a commanding inside presence. Last season he averaged 9.8 rebounds per game and tallied 42 blocks in 27 games. Against Marquette on Monday, he finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks.
Chaminade proved itself a talented team thanks to a strong showing against LSU. After taking a 41-36 lead in the first half, the Silverswords were ultimately unable to hold on, falling 78-72.
Chaminade guard Hayden Heiber led the team with 25 points, while forward Rodrick Johnson added 11 points to go along with 13 rebounds.
If the Tigers are to overcome the talented Silverswords in their Maui farewell, they will have to improve on the poor shot selection and sloppy ball control that plagued them in the opening two games of the tournament.
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