For the men’s basketball team, there really is no place like home. Princeton continued its domination of the hardwood of Carril Court in a 68-57 victory over visiting Marist on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Tigers (11-4) extended their undefeated streak at Carril Court to eight games, stretching back to last season. The matchup against Marist (3-12) marked the beginning of a seven-game home stand for the Tigers, who are 4-0 at home this season. Marist came into the game winless on the road at 0-6, and the game continued the perfection of both records.
“It has to do with the comfort level with our team,” sophomore forward Ian Hummer said. “We just have been playing a lot better at home, and I think having the home crowd and home-court advantage has helped in our home streak.”
The win featured the two classic elements of successful Princeton basketball: stingy, fundamental defense and balanced scoring. Marist was held to 34 percent shooting in the game and just 13 percent from three-point range. Five Princeton players scored in double digits, led by 16 points from senior guard and tri-captain Dan Mavraides.
“We try to see mismatches and exploit that wherever possible,” Hummer explained. “We just come out and see where we can exploit some people and try to take advantage of that. This game was a good example of that.”
Princeton has now won nine of its last 10 games and had been on an eight-game win streak before a tough loss to No. 19 University of Central Florida to end 2010.
Much of the team’s winning is due to the emergence of senior forward and tri-captain Kareem Maddox. After scoring fewer than 10 points in each of the first five games of the season, Maddox passed that feat in seven of the next eight contests, all of them wins. The Tigers are undefeated in games in which he has scored double digits.
In Wednesday’s victory, Maddox scored 12 points and added five rebounds, including two high-flying dunks.
“He’s a huge mismatch for most teams in the country, and we try to give him the ball as much as possible and see what he can do with it,” Hummer said.
For much of the game, Princeton held a consistent lead hovering at and above 10 points. Marist tried several times to alter its defensive alignment to stymie the Tigers, but it was unable to stop Princeton’s balanced offense.
To begin the game, Princeton jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead, and Marist switched to a zone defense. Unfazed, the Tigers pushed the ball in transition, and a three-pointer by Mavraides made the score 22-10. A timeout from Marist could not stop the Tigers, who stretched out to a 30-10 lead before the Red Foxes scored again.
The balanced attack proved vital for Princeton’s offense because of its struggles shooting from long range. The Tigers made just three of 18 three-pointers, including junior guard Doug Davis’ one-for-seven output. Despite that, he was one of the five Tigers to score in double digits, along with Mavraides, Maddox, Hummer and sophomore center Brendan Connolly. Hummer added five assists and seven rebounds to lead the team in both categories.
Although the Tigers were in control for much of the contest, a seven-minute offensive drought allowed Marist to fight back to within five points midway through the second half. The Tigers withstood the onslaught, and Davis’ three-pointer pushed their lead back to comfortable margins to seal the win.
Princeton will take a break from play for the rest of finals period. The team will return with hopes of extending its home-court prowess Jan. 23 against The College of New Jersey.
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