Men's Basketball: Princeton’s title hopes fading with road losses

The Tigers needed to win both games to stay within reasonable distance of the immensely talented Harvard, which has won six consecutive Ivy League games. Although they performed exactly as required against a weak Brown team, Princeton’s offense hit a wall against Yale, after prolific outings against the Quakers and the Bears.

Against the Bulldogs on Saturday, the Tigers struggled to find their rhythm as they floundered in New Haven. Over the course of the game, Princeton scored 54 points, only six more than they had managed in a single period against Brown, when the Tigers reached 48.

Junior forward Ian Hummer led the team with 18 points, while adding five rebounds and two blocks. While fellow forwards junior Mack Darrow and senior Patrick Saunders also reached double digits, regular scorer and senior guard Doug Davis struggled from the field, and the Princeton reserves produced a lone field goal among themselves.

“I thought there was a huge key in the game, when I think it was 50-45,” head coach Mitch Henderson ’98 said. “We got two stops in a row and missed wide-open threes, I believe, and maybe a bunny. That’s when you could’ve turned the game a little bit.”

Although Yale also couldn’t find the bucket — the team shot 35.1 percent from the field — the Bulldogs outrebounded the Tigers 45-34, which ultimately decided the result of a tight match. Princeton showed fight to pull back to within two points after conceding a nine-point halftime lead, but couldn’t make enough key shots late in the game to get its nose in front.

“They killed us on the inside,” Hummer said, “and there was also perimeter letdown on the defensive end that, kind of, they beat us inside-out.”

Although the loss almost certainly pushes the Tigers out of realistically contending for the title, Hummer scored his 1,000th point and became the 29th male in Princeton’s basketball program history to do so. He also became just the third to do so in his junior year since freshman eligibility began in 1978-79.

Friday, Princeton jumped out to a 21-8 lead against Brown in the first period to take control, and the team kept a strong grip on its lead through the rest of the match. The Bears could not find a way to stop the Tigers from pouring in 48 points in the first 20 minutes and did not have the chance to pull back once Princeton’s offense cooled in the latter part of the game. The Tigers squad demonstrated how well-rounded its play can be, especially in contrast to the outing the next day in New Haven.

“I thought we definitely had the right attitude tonight, which was sort of the approach to the game,” Henderson said, “and I thought [junior center] Brendan Connolly carried over what he did on Monday to tonight. We were just more aggressive on the glass, and that created some opportunities for us.”

Eight Princeton players scored seven or more points, including all five starters. Freshman forward Denton Koon, sophomore guard Ben Hazel and Connolly together contributed 31 efficient points off the bench. Hazel also drained four of his seven three-point attempts, scoring 12 to lead the Tigers in scoring alongside Davis.

“I feel like I can knock down open shots,” Hazel said, “so when they gave it to me I felt pretty confident because I do it enough at practice, and coach says, you know, ‘When you’re open, take it.’ So today they kind of left me open a few times, they really came on Doug and Ian and those guys, so it was an opportunity, and I just had to take advantage.”

The Tigers need to sweep their four home games over the upcoming weekends for an outside chance just at achieving a top two or three position in the league this year. If nothing else, it will allow this team in transition to develop a better understanding of its own abilities and what it must work on to ensure success the following year.