On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the men's basketball team proved that the Princeton Offense — when executed well — is one of the most elegant and beautiful attacks in the world of hoops. Unfortunately for the Tigers (2-3 overall), the late-game fireworks show put on by senior forward Noah Savage and sophomore guard Lincoln Gunn fell just a little bit short in a 75-72 loss to Chaminade (2-2).
The defeat concluded a winless three-game stay by Princeton at the EA Sports Maui Invitational. Chaminade — a Division II school and the host of the tournament — improved its record to 5-65 in 24 years of Maui Invitational play.
With the Tigers trailing 67-60 with one minute, two seconds remaining in the game, the Princeton shooters began a furious comeback bid. Senior guard Matt Sargeant ignited the offense with a quick layup, and Savage and Gunn followed that up with two three-pointers in quick succession.
On the other end of the floor, the Silverswords missed several free throws, allowing the Tigers to cut their deficit to two on Gunn's three with 12 seconds left to play. But down 70-68 and forced to foul, Princeton watched as Chaminade guards Hayden Heiber and LaMarr Hunt put the game away with four clutch free throws in the waning seconds.
Despite losing all three of their games over the course of the tournament, the Tigers appeared to improve as the week went on. After falling by an average margin of over 20 points in its first two contests, Princeton stuck close with the Silverswords the entire game.
Under former head coach Joe Scott '87, Princeton's offense was often criticized for its overdependence on the three-point shot. Wednesday, however, the Tiger shooters didn't have to settle for anything. Crisp passes and good screens resulted in several open looks.
"We feel pretty good about our offense," Savage said.
By the time the Silverswords' defense adjusted, Princeton's shooters — particularly Savage — were completely dialed in. After finishing the game with a season-high 20 points, Savage reflected on his first double-digit effort of the season.
"My shot felt good the whole tournament," Savage said. "And I got a lot of open looks, so I put them in."
Savage and Gunn combined for 35 points and hit an impressive 10 of 18 shots from beyond the arc. Senior forward Kyle Koncz also had his long-range stroke working, finishing three-for-eight from the three-point line.
The outside game of the Tigers' perimeter players opened up the inside lanes for sophomore center Zach Finley. Finley, who scored eight points in each of Princeton's first two games in Maui, came back with 16 points against Chaminade.
"He's got a great touch around the hoop," Savage said. "He's going to be one of those classic Princeton centers."

Overall, Princeton converted 15 of 29 three-point attempts and shot over 47 percent from the field.
The Tigers' resilience was tested early, as the Silverswords opened the game with an 8-0 scoring run that spanned the first five minutes of the half. As he did throughout the day, Savage shook Princeton out of its doldrums with a first three-pointer. From that point on, the Tigers never trailed by more than eight points, though they never managed to entirely erase that initial deficit.
Ultimately, the Tigers' ordinarily superb defense let them down against Chaminade. Though good shooting kept the game close, Princeton always seemed one step behind on the opposite end of the court. The Silverswords shot over 50 percent from the field and behind the line, while also hitting 77 percent of their free throws to make the Tigers pay for every foul.
Though nothing was systematically wrong with Princeton's strategy on defense, occasional lapses in communication and execution hurt the Tigers.
"We watched a lot of our tape on defense," Savage said. "We made some adjustments with that. At the end of the day, sometimes it just comes down to one guy versus you and you just have to stop him."
If the Tigers manage to combine their customary relentless defense with a well-honed offense in time for the beginning of the team's Ivy League schedule, Princeton might just experience something more beautiful this season than even sunny Maui.