Men's Basketball: Tigers take two over the weekend

Last year, Princeton opened up league play on a 4-0 tear, one that included an impressive home victory over Cornell. The Big Red had won 19 consecutive Ivy League games before running into the Tigers.

But after that incredible weekend, Princeton traveled to Providence, R.I. and New Haven, Conn. for a pair of road games. In sole possession of first place, the Tigers received the Bears’ and Bulldogs’ best shot. Princeton wasn’t up to the task, as it lost both games.

So it’s fitting that the Tigers opened up their Ivy League campaign this year with a repeat of the weekend that proved a harsh blow to last year’s title hopes. It’s safe to say Princeton passed the test — in more ways than one.

“I think we had some unfinished business up there from last year,” said senior forward and co-captain Nick Lake. “It’s great to go up there and get those wins. And we prepared a lot for these. It’s important to win on the road no matter where you go.”

To date this season, the Tigers have been bothered by slow starts, as well as a defense that, though spectacular when at its best, hasn’t always been consistent. You would never know that Princeton had struggled in those two areas by its efforts this past weekend.

“That’s something that we’ve been working on — coming out with the same energy every game,” Lake said.

The Tigers sprinted out of the gate against Brown and never looked back. The Bears struck first on a three-pointer by guard Adrian Williams, and that was the largest lead they ever had.

Junior guard Dan Mavraides scored a layup after sophomore forward Patrick Saunders recorded a steal, and sophomore guard Doug Davis gave Princeton the lead shortly thereafter. He came up with an offensive rebound off of senior guard and co-captain Marcus Schroeder’s missed three-pointer. Schroeder returned the favor, finding Davis for a three that made it 5-3.

Brown tied it with a layup, but it was all Tigers after that. Over the next nine minutes, Princeton went on a dominant 24-5 run. Halftime saw the Tigers leave the court with a 22-point lead, at 40-18.

Davis was outstanding in leading the charge for Princeton. All of his team-leading 16 points came in the first half. He was brutally efficient too — 6 of 10 from the field and 4 of 7 from beyond the arc. By the end of the game, he also had recorded four assists, four rebounds, a steal and just one turnover.

Princeton’s offense was extremely well balanced; the only other player to finish in double digits was freshman forward Ian Hummer. Hummer had 10 points in 18 minutes.

Hummer gutted it out and embraced the physicality of the game. That toughness, more than the team’s offense — which was nonetheless efficient, with nearly 44 percent shooting for the game and 40 percent from downtown — was the key to the Tigers’ victory.

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Princeton was called for 24 fouls. To put that in perspective, Brown finished the game with a total of 12 field goals. The Bears only shot 30 percent from the field. A large factor in that number was the points in the paint; Brown had only 18, and just six at halftime. That’s an impressive number, especially considering that one of the Bears’ best weapons is center Matt Mullery. He had only two field goals on eight attempts.

So rather than give Brown high-percentage looks, the Tigers sent the Bears to the line, forcing them to earn their points.

That defensive intensity carried over into Princeton’s match against Yale.

Both teams battled back and forth throughout the first half, with the Tigers clinging to a small lead for most of the way. After a lay-up by guard Michael Sands cut Princeton’s lead to just one, at 28-27, the Tigers responded, closing out the half on a 4-0 run.

Schroeder led the charge, even though he didn’t score the buckets. He found junior forward Kareem Maddox for an open jumper with just 26 seconds left in the half. The Bulldogs could have held for the final shot of the first half and left the court down no more than three, but Schroeder stole the ball from forward Alex Zampier with just 10 seconds remaining. He brought the ball down the court and dished to senior center Zach Finley for a layup that made it 32-27 at halftime.

Princeton’s 56-percent shooting pushed them to that lead; the Tigers allowed the Bulldogs to shoot 47 percent in the first half. Princeton benefited from eight Yale turnovers, however. The Bulldogs took eight fewer field goals than the Tigers — 17 and 25, respectively.

Princeton clamped down in the second half. In the first three minutes, the Tigers ran off a 7-2 run that swelled their lead to 10. Mavraides drained a three, sandwiched in between a pair of layups from senior center Pawel Buczak and Davis.

Yale responded, however, with an 11-2 run of its own that shrunk Princeton’s lead to 41-40 with less than 10 minutes to go.

Schroeder subbed back into the game, and the move paid dividends immediately. Schroeder found Buczak for a jumper out of the timeout, and after Yale threw the ball away, he hit Davis for a three-pointer.

Princeton outscored Yale 13-3 over a seven-minute stretch late in the second half to extend its lead to 54-42 with one minute, 13 seconds left. During the run, the Tigers allowed exactly one field goal. After shooting a solid 47 percent in the first half, Yale made a paltry 26 percent of its shots in the second.

Zampier, the Ivy League’s leading scorer at 17.8 points per game, finished with just 13. He needed 11 shots, of which he made only four, to get there.

“Going into the weekend, we had a really good scouting report. Our coaches worked hard to get a good scouting report,” Lake said. “It paid off. We practiced hard to make sure we had that scouting report down pat.”

Davis led the Tigers in scoring once again, with 13 points. But again, the offensive effort was balanced and effective. Seven players scored more than six points en route to a 51-percent shooting night.

One night after a three-assist, no-turnover game, Schroeder finished the night with six more helpers, two steals, seven points and, once again, zero turnovers.

It was an impressive opening weekend in the Ivy League for Princeton — especially with respect to the defense — but then again, strong beginnings have become the status quo for Johnson. In each of his three seasons at the helm, the Tigers have started league play at 2-0. The question is where they will finish – two years ago, it was 3-11; last year, 8-6, good for second in the league.

As Princeton learned last year, things can change in a hurry. The Tigers will certainly have a tough test next weekend, when they hit the road again. Next up is an impressive 14-4 Harvard team, which gave No. 19 UConn a serious challenge in Storrs, Conn. The Crimson will undoubtedly be raring to go Friday evening, after suffering a 36-point loss to Cornell this past Saturday evening.