Men's Basketball: Hungry Jaspers await in Big Apple

“We score for the first 35 or 36 minutes,” junior guard and co-captain Nick Lake said. “So we just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing from the beginning of the game and just keep playing through to the end.”

Princeton, however, has several distinct disadvantages heading into its match against the Jaspers (4-3), the most obvious being that the Tigers don’t have home-court advantage. Though Princeton has picked up both of its wins on the road, Manhattan is 2-1 at home and will feel be more confident on its own court, backed by a crowd of Jasper fans.

“From what we’ve heard, we expect they are going to come out and pressure us on the defense,” Lake said. “We just need to keep our composure.”

The Tigers aren’t helped by the fact that Manhattan just dropped a disappointing, close game, 76-73, to conference rival Rider and is looking for a win to prove that it’s still a contender in its division. Leading Manhattan’s efforts will be its indomitable defense. In last year’s contest, Princeton turned the ball over 21 times to the Jaspers’ defense, which disrupted the Tigers’ offensive rhythm in the 71-66 loss.

“I think they are going to bring pressure defensively, and we have to be confident in what we do,” senior guard and co-captain Jason Briggs said. “But I don’t think we are going to change anything specifically for them.”

Princeton’s greatest stumbling block to earning a W this weekend, however, may not come from the other side of the court. While the Tigers’ defense has been steadily improving and is usually effective at disrupting and blocking shots, their offensive play has been lacking. In Wednesday’s game against Rutgers, the team’s stalwart defense held the Scarlet Knights to just 49 points, but Princeton’s inability to score points — including a backbreaking dry spell in the final three minutes, 55 seconds — resulted in the Tigers’ third straight loss. Princeton desperately needs to increase its shooting accuracy and frequency if the Tigers hope to go head to head against the Jaspers’ forceful offense.

Princeton has the ability to win, especially with the outstanding crop of recruits that head coach Sydney Johnson ’97 has attracted, but the team needs to learn how to finish. The Tigers have displayed great depth in scoring this season — all nine players who played Wednesday scored — and their defense has been their backbone throughout most of their games.

“We are more athletic and faster this year,” Briggs said. “Knowing the scouting report — knowing what each individual guy is doing — is very important. That, combined with our speed, has added to this year’s defense.”

Though Princeton has been unable to find the bottom of the net in the crucial final minutes of its games — three of the Tigers’ four home games have been decided by five points or fewer — the Tigers have every chance of beating Manhattan if they can finish with the same level of intensity they have displayed in bursts throughout the season.

Princeton will look to several star players to help provide that consistency, including breakout freshman guard Doug Davis. Davis leads the team offensively and averages 12.3 points and 4.9 field goals per game in addition to pilfering a team-high 11 steals. Another dominant force on the court will be Briggs, who leads the team in defensive rebounds with 3.1 per game and had 10 points and seven rebounds against St. Bonaventure last Saturday.

A win on Sunday is completely within reach, and the Tigers know this.

“Every game is important,” Briggs said. “We are confident that we should be winning. The goal is to win, and we need to do that.”