Shorthanded and down three starters in the second half, Princeton men’s basketball (3–7 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) nearly stole one anyway.
But junior captain and guard Jackson Hicke’s deep three at the buzzer narrowly missed, sealing a 60–58 loss to Saint Joseph’s (4–3 overall, 0–0 Atlantic 10) and handing the Tigers their fourth straight defeat — their longest slide since the beginning of the 2019–20 season.
“I think we could’ve won the last three games honestly,” Hicke told reporters postgame while noting the absence of three starters. “You gotta take it with a grain of salt. A lot of guys are getting experience, and that will help us down the road. At the end of the day, it’s about being the best prepared we can be for Ivy [play].”
The Tigers were missing junior captain and guard Dalen Davis, who missed his fourth consecutive game after injuring his right ankle in a win over Northeastern. The Chicago native was averaging 16.5 points per game before the injury. Sophomore forward CJ Happy — who was coming off a career high 22 points against Vermont in the last game — was out with an illness, while sophomore forward Malik Abdullahi picked up a toe injury in the first half and was sidelined for the remainder of the game.
Without Happy, sophomore forward Jacob Huggins got his first start of the season, but finished with just four points on one-for-six shooting from the field. The Tigers’ thin bench also struggled to provide meaningful production, as they finished with just 11 points.
“We’re banged up, and the timing of the games has been rough,” men’s basketball Head Coach Mitch Henderson ’98 told reporters postgame. “These games are gonna help us in the long run.”
The game marked the third straight edition of the Deborah Heart and Lung Center Jersey Jam at CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton. Princeton was 2–0 in the event after past wins over Rutgers and Duquesne in 2023 and 2024.
However, they were unable to make it three on Sunday afternoon, falling to a familiar face in Hawks head coach Steve Donahue, who led Penn basketball for nine seasons before being fired in March. Heading into the game, Donahue had lost 13 straight games to Henderson, with his last win coming in a February 2018 82–65 win over Princeton.
Both slides had sluggish starts as Princeton jumped out to a 14–5 lead with 12:48 remaining in the first half. However, an 8–0 run ignited by Hawks guard and Trenton native Deuce Jones II cut the deficit to one. Jones had 17 points and nine rebounds and was named the Jersey’s Jam Most Outstanding Player.
Heading into the final media timeout of the opening 20 minutes, Saint Joseph’s held a slim 25–21 lead. The key for the Hawks: rebounding. Donahue’s squad had a 17–9 advantage on the glass that also helped generate second-chance points.
At halftime, the Hawks led 30–25. By the end of the game, they had outscored the Tigers in the paint 36–16.
“We’ve got to take ownership of what we can do better,” Henderson said.
To start the second half, Abdullahi was seen with ice on his left toe, and Henderson confirmed a toe injury that will need more testing.
Back-to-back triples from Huggins and Hicke tied the game at 31. Minutes later, first-year guard Landon Clark converted from beyond the arc to put Princeton up 36–35. Clark finished the game with a career-high nine points on three shots beyond the arc.
Princeton improved on the glass in the second half, but was plagued by turnovers. With under eight minutes remaining, the Hawks held a 45–44 lead despite a three-minute scoring drought across four offensive possessions.
“I think we had seven, maybe eight [turnovers] going into the last five minutes of the game,” Henderson said. “We finished with 13. You can’t expect to win.”
Both sides struggled to get anything going on the offensive end. With 3:30 remaining, St. Joe’s guard Derek Simpson scored four straight points to put his side up 58–52. However, an and-one from Hicke pulled the Tigers within two points with 39 seconds remaining.
After a missed triple from Jones, Henderson called a timeout. Despite the Tigers’ best efforts to put the ball in the hands of Hicke from an inbounding play at the Hawks’ baseline, the Tigers were unable to force the shot that they wanted. A deep three from Hicke rattled off the backboard, sealing the Hawks’ 60–58 win.
“They did a good job pushing it out,” Hicke said. “It was a little deep, but with one second on the clock, we are going to take that every day of the week. I could have made that.”
The Tigers will stay in the Garden State and look to bounce back on Wednesday against Monmouth (4–4 overall, 0–0 Coastal Athletic Association). Monmouth has a balanced attack, with three players averaging at least 13 points per game.
“At the end of the day, we’re a younger team now, and we’ve lost a lot of guys,” Hicke said. “We’re used to winning a lot of these games in non-conference, but now we really got to grow in non-conference, and that’s gotta be our main goal, and wins will come with that.”
“We gotta get healthy,” Henderson stressed.
Hayk Yengibaryan is a head News editor, senior Sports writer, and education director for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Glendale, Calif. and typically covers breaking news and profiles. He can be reached at hy5161[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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