Though Harvard officially eliminated Princeton’s chances of rising to the top of the conference on Friday, the team demonstrated its capability by keeping control throughout a relatively close game against Yale (19-9, 9-5) that same evening and followed up by feasting on a weak Brown (8-23, 2-12) lineup the following night.
The visiting Bulldogs needed a win to have any chance of usurping the Crimson or the Quakers, but they came up short against the determined Tigers. Princeton used an early 10-0 burst to lead 23-8 with over nine minutes left in the first half. Although Yale steadily cut into the lead to tie the game at 40-40 in the second half as Princeton struggled in the early stages of the period, the hosts pulled away for a close but comfortable win, 64-57.
Junior forward Ian Hummer had a remarkably efficient game, as he converted seven of 11 field goal attempts to score 18 points and added four blocks and three steals on the defensive end. Sophomore guard T.J. Bray also scored in double digits for the Tigers.
Yale’s star center, Greg Mangano, managed a double-double of 20 points and 14 boards, but he took 19 shots and eight free throw attempts to do so. Princeton’s defense denied him the time and space to get into a rhythm.
“You know he’s going to score, and he’s a good player,” Hummer said. “But if he goes for 20 and 20, and the other teammates don’t get involved, we’ll take that.”
“Obviously it’s a team effort. We kind of preached digging down in the post all week, and it’s just great to see the improvement of guys doing that,” junior center Mack Darrow said. “Up in New Haven, it was a struggle, but [freshman forward] Denton Koon tonight just showed so much growth and maturity. At the end of the year, he’s just getting so much better, and I think he dug down two or three times, and that just really made a difference.”
Saturday night, Brown started off with far greater intensity than Princeton and held the rebounding edge until late into the first period. Bears guard Matt Sullivan took nearly 40 percent of his team’s shots in the first half to score 11 points and added four rebounds as well. However, the gulf in quality eventually surfaced, as senior forward Patrick Saunders and senior guard Doug Davis made three field goals apiece to give Princeton a 33-23 lead to take into the half.
Princeton came out extremely focused after the break to double its lead in a little over four minutes of play. Junior center Brendan Connolly dominated with his size advantage inside by spinning away from his defender to create space for a layup, finding a cutting teammate and sending the ball to the open perimeter player for a three-point shot.
“I was really proud of the way that Brendan played,” head coach Mitch Henderson ’98 said. “[He] made everybody else better. I think he’s really making us a much better team, even here late, and I think we’ve been playing pretty well.”
Without truly putting their foot on the gas, the Tigers flattened the Bears to win the game by 34 points. Connolly led from the front with 14 points, seven rebounds and a game-high six assists.
Opposing guard Sean McGonagill took the single-season Brown record for assists with his third of the game, before adding another to push his mark up to 157.
The win, coupled with Harvard and Penn’s sweeps of their weekend games, means that the Quakers must win at Jadwin Gymnasium on Tuesday to share the Ivy League title and force a playoff with the Crimson for the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers aren’t without incentive, however, as a win ensures them sole possession of third place in the conference and would potentially distinguish them as worthy competitors in the National Invitation Tournament.
“It’s a good way to end the season,” Davis said. “They’re having a really good season, and they’re playing for something, but we are too.”
With much at stake, the stands will likely fill up before the game starts at 7:30 p.m.
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