Sports shorts: cagers rebound; skaters struggle

Cook tallies season-high 28 points in comeback win over Stony Brook

In the first meeting between the two schools, men’s basketball (3-6 overall) put together a late second half rally to earn a 77-64 victory over Stony Brook (5-6). This home win Saturday night comes on the heels of 89-85 shootout loss at Fairleigh Dickson (3-4).

In the second meeting between the schools – Princeton won last year’s matchup 77-55 – the Tigers established an eight-point lead over Fairleigh Dickinson through twenty minutes of play. Their shooting was an efficient 10-of-20 from the field, 5-of-10 from beyond the arc and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe. These numbers would hold more or less steady during the second period. Initially, the Knights had little success against the Princeton defense, converting 10 of 27 first half field goal attempts and 4-16 three-point shots.

The home offense exploded in the second half for 64 points, while the visitors managed a similarly impressive 52. All six of their attempted three-pointers found the bottom of the net. What’s more, Princeton sent FDU players to the charity stripe 37 times in the second period, which is just two attempts shy of the most free throws Princeton has allowed in an entire game this season.

Five Tigers recorded double-digit point totals. Sophomore Spencer Weisz, who has transitioned to the guard position recently, totaled a team-high18 points in 37 minutes.

Junior forward Hans Brase with 16 points and 13 rebounds managed his third double-double of the young season and the fifth of his career.

Tipping off at Jadwin Gymnasium, the Tigers struggled early against the Seawolves of Stony Brook. A seawolf, also known as a sea lion, is a member of the Otariidae (eared seal) family and inhabits coastal regions of South America.

Just over five minutes into the first half, Princeton trailed the visitors by a score of 11-4. The lead would end up changing nine times in the opening 20 minutes, which ended with the home side leading 38-36. The next lead change came six minutes into the second half and marked a resurgence for the Seawolves’ offense. By the 9:21 mark, Stony Brook had accumulated a nine-point lead, their largest of the evening. The Tigers retook the lead with 6:00 remaining on the clock and managed to extend their advantage to double digits in the games closing minutes.

Princeton’s shooting efficiency remained relatively steady across the two periods. Field goal numbers were 13-of-26 and 10-of-23 in the first and second halves. Stony Brook, on the other hand, collapsed offensively in the final 20 minutes, converting nine of 30 from the field and only one of 10 three-point attempts.

Sophomore forward Steven Cook proved a dominant force in the comeback win. 5-of-7 from three-point range and 8-of-12 from the field, he contributed 28 points, which represents the highest total by a Princeton player this season.

Weisz was held to single digits for just the second time this year. Despite sinking a perfect six-for-six from the free-throw line, he shot just 1-of-8 from the field and 1-of-5 from three-point land.

Princeton will be on the road for their next two contests, facing Saint Peter’s of Jersey City, N.J, this Wednesday. The University of California at Berkeley will host the Tigers this upcoming weekend.

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Phinney tallies career-high 51 saves in loss to Crimson

Despite a home-ice advantage, men’s hockey (2-9-1 overall, 1-7-0 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference) proved unable to top either of their opponents on the weekend. No. 9 Harvard (8-1-2, 4-1-2) and Dartmouth (5-4-1, 3-4-1) traveled to Baker Rink and left with 4-3 and 4-2 wins.

Having just beaten No. 1 Boston College and No. 4 UMass Lowell the previous weekend, the Crimson appeared an unequal match for the struggling Tigers. Harvard’s second line scored the game’s opening goal 13:52 into the first period. 6:52 into the second period, the third line of Harvard skaters extended the visitors’ lead to 2-0.

Princeton fought back admirably in the face of this disadvantage. Skating with a man advantage, sophomore defenseman Tommy Davis scored his first goal of the year on assists from senior linemate Aaron Ave and sophomore center Ben Foster. Eight minutes later, freshman defenseman Joe Grabowski scored on assists from junior center Kyle Rankin and freshman winger Max Becker to equalize at 2-2.

Just over 90 seconds into the final period, Harvard retook a lead which they would not relinquish. Harvard’s center Sean Malone beat Princeton’s sophomore keeper Colton Phinney, and five minutes later the Crimson sophomore assisted winger Tyler Moy for the game-winning goal.

Both third period goals came on Crimson power plays begun by the Tigers’ fifth and sixth penalties.

The Tigers drew within one goal at the 16:41 mark courtesy of senior center Aaron Kesselman’s goal, assisted by his linemates Tucker Brockett and sophomore Garrett Skrbich. Forty-five seconds of an empty Princeton net would not yield the equalizer.

Phinney’s 51 saves stand alone as his career high, surpassing his 43 stops against St. Lawrence last season. Walter McDonough ’84 has sole possession of the Princeton single-game record of 64.

A hot start for the Big Green yielded a deficit too large for the Tigers to overcome. Three Dartmouth goals in the first period were interrupted by one score from Kessleman, again assisted by Brockett and Skrbich.

By the end of the contest’s first 20 minutes, the visitors were on top by a score of 3-1. The teams exchanged goals in the following period. Assisted by classmate, linemate and co-captain Mike Ambrosia and Rankin, Princeton’s junior winger Jonathan Liau scored his team-high third goal of the season on a power play.

Dartmouth’s starting center Tyler Sikura, who scored his team’s third goal, added one more tally at the 14:14 mark to put the game out of reach.

A scoreless final period saw both teams penalized three times. Just under two minutes of an empty Princeton net to close out the contest would not yield a goal for the home team.

This upcoming weekend, the Tigers will take on a non-conference opponent in Minnesota State, Mankato, in an away series.