Sunday was an island between two distinct epochs, a two week exam period without a game behind it and a run of 13 contests in 40 days that will decide this year’s Ivy League title immediately in front of it.
Princeton did not shoot the ball particularly well in their return to action but had enough size at both ends and got to the line frequently enough to dispatch The College of New Jersey without incident or, perhaps more importantly, injury.
Tiger starters scored the game's first nine points and following TCNJ’s brief halving of a double digit deficit to five versus an early lineup heavy on reserves, returned to the floor to promptly convert back-to-back three point shots and build an 11 point advantage that would only increase for the remaining 28:32 of the afternoon.
Outrebounding an undersized foe 29-17 in the first half, with freshman Hans Brase grabbing 11 of those boards, Princeton extended a 39-17 halftime lead as most of their work was done at the foul line, where the Tigers shot 14-18.
The final buzzer could not come quickly enough after intermission as Denton Koon (12 points in 22 minutes) and Brase (11 points and 15 rebounds in 26 minutes) remained on the floor to anchor the rotation. The lead went from 20 to 30 to 40 as the visiting Lions suffered through a near-10 minute stretch wherein they recorded just a single field goal.
Clay Wilson played a team-high 28 minutes, 2-10 from three point range as his 0-10 marksmanship behind the arc the prior four games finally found the target.
All 13 Princeton players in uniform saw at least six minutes of action. The Tigers were 21-58 (36.2%) as a unit but 22-29 at the line (75.9%) with a ridiculous 60-30 edge on the glass boosted by 21 offensive rebounds.
Emmanuel Matlock and Ryan Keegan each had 10 for TCNJ, which went 0-14 from three on the day.
A full recap plus postgame audio from Coach Mitch Henderson, Denton Koon & Hans Brase can be found after the jump.
Those are the only three senior classes in Princeton basketball history to sweep four games from Penn at Jadwin Gym. Ian Hummer, Brendan Connolly and Mack Darrow added their names to an exclusive list this evening after the Tigers' 65-53 victory over the Quakers.
It was a game Princeton led the final 36:20 of, answering Greg Louis' three point shot with nine straight out the gate and turning a 31-22 halftime advantage into a comfortable margin behind 11 in a row after intermission.
In both runs junior guard T.J. Bray knocked down a three pointer. Bray hit six times from behind the arc in 11 tries, recording a career high 23 points plus three rebounds and no turnovers.
“It was just one of those days where shots are falling down,” said Bray. “They were coming in the flow of the offense, which was big. Ian had a couple nice passes to me and I was able to just step in and shoot.”
Hummer scored 13 and fellow senior Darrow added eight off the bench plus five assists and no miscues in a point-center role.
Tony Hicks slashed his way to 16 for Penn on 18 shots, 13 of the freshman's tallies coming in the second half. The Quakers scored the game's final seven points after the result was no longer in question.
Postgame audio from Coach Mitch Henderson, Ian Hummer & T.J. Bray plus the rest of this recap can all be found after the jump.
The Ivy League is holding its fourth-annual Men's Basketball Midseason Media Teleconference this morning, with all eight coaches answering questions from media.
The portion of today's Q&A with Princeton coach Mitch Henderson is available after the jump. A .mp3 of the full program has been archived.
Henderson's segment from last October's Ivy League Preseason Media Teleconference is archived here.
Ocean vs. MCCC - 7:00 pm ET
Pitt vs. Georgetown - 9:00 pm ET - ESPNU
Columbia vs. Holy Cross - 7:00 pm ET
Niagara vs. Brown - 7:00 pm ET
Army vs. Dartmouth - 7:00 pm ET
Lafayette vs. Penn - 7:30 pm ET
Ian Hummer is your Ivy League Player of the Week for the fourth time in the last five conference dispatches. It seems someone (not me!) also created a Wikipedia page for the senior forward a couple of hours ago.
For their Big East home opener, Georgetown hosts Pitt.
Kareem Maddox scored 19 in a tune-up for Newcastle prior to the Eagles' appearance in the BBL Cup final.
There was a long list of things to like coming out of Princeton's wire-to-wire 10 point win at Elon on Saturday afternoon.
Whether it was Ian Hummer matching his career high of 28 points on 10-16 shooting, Will Barrett's five straight three pointers in the first half or T.J. Bray's dozen turned in entirely after intermission, several of the positives were individual.
But there was also 15 offensive rebounds and a 36-25 overall advantage on the glass for the Tigers, not to mention just three turnovers in the final 20 minutes as the Phoenix attempted to come from 16 down with 8:40 remaining following Hummer's dunk up and over the face of Elon leading scorer Lucas Troutman.
Perhaps the nicest thing on a day with limited complaints was how Princeton handled themselves when Troutman drew his team within seven.
Scoring on their last six possessions beginning with a driving Mack Darrow setting up Denton Koon for a two hand dunk, the Tigers never allowed their hosts a chance to administer additional pressure as the orange and black went 7-8 at the line to boost their chances into the waning seconds.
"I liked the calmness," recognized Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson. "There's a calmness now, which is the kind of progress we needed."
Troutman scored 14 on 13 field goal attempts but also had a 0:5 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Postgame audio from Coach Mitch Henderson, Will Barrett & Ian Hummer plus the rest of this recap can be found after the jump.
7'0" center Zeke Marshall was a perfect seven-for-seven from the floor including a 16' jump hook from outside his comfort zone to beat the shot clock buzzer with 1:35 left in regulation that inched his team up three as Akron closed on a 7-2 run to trip Princeton and stay unblemished at the James A. Rhodes Arena.
In a second half that saw the Zips lead by as many as six and Princeton fight back to take a 56-55 edge on a Hans Brase step-in jumper with 3:33 showing, the Tigers could not get the singular play that might have altered the result.
“The story of the night really was we could not stop them inside, which was disappointing because I think that’s going to be a strength of ours,” said head coach Mitch Henderson about a game where Akron got 48 of their points in the lane. “With a minute left we can’t do what we did tonight putting them on the line without giving ourselves an opportunity to win the game.”
An off-balance tying try from Clay Wilson behind an Ian Hummer screen caught part of the rim but did not come particularly close with three seconds remaining and a Marshall free throw provided the final margin.
Denton Koon was the recipient of myriad Hummer feeds on his way to 16 points. Hummer had 13 on 5-13 shooting, nine rebounds, seven dimes and six turnovers.
Hans Brase reached double digits in his third consecutive start, adding 10.
Marshall's 17 were complimented by 16 for the Zips' Nick Harney.
Postgame audio from Mitch Henderson and the rest of this recap can be found after the jump.
Christmas came a few days early for Ian Hummer, who got what he wanted since the very start of the season - a full 40 minute performance for his team.
All five Princeton starters scored in double figures as the Tigers knocked off Bucknell at Jadwin Gym.
It took an effort from the top to the bottom of the rotation to best a squad who came in with an 11-1 record and were firmly in the Top 50 of all reputable rankings.
Princeton scored on seven straight second half possessions - including four three pointers - to turn a four point edge into a 62-47 advantage with 5:57 remaining.
To close out the game the Tigers made 13 straight at the line before Brendan Connolly's miss was accidentally tipped in by Hans Brase and a battling Bucknell defender.
Hummer had 17 points, Denton Koon matched him with a career high, Brase followed up a sensational first start with 14 despite serious foul trouble, T.J. Bray added 11 plus eight assists versus zero turnovers and Mack Darrow starting in place of the injured Will Barrett totaled 10.
Mike Muscala's 17 points and 11 rebounds paced the Bison in defeat but his touches were severely limited.
A full recap plus postgame audio from Mitch Henderson, Denton Koon & Ian Hummer can be found after the jump.
Mitch Henderson couldn't remember if he had talked to freshman forward Hans Brase during the latter's recruitment about the possibility of playing center at Princeton.
After Brase's performance 10 games into his career replacing veteran big man Brendan Connolly in the lineup it is hard to imagine him anywhere else.
With a 3-6 record buoyed by a trio of dissipated second half leads, Princeton badly needed some sort of spark and they found one - at least for an evening - in the form of Brase.
Making his first collegiate start Brase had a career high 17 points on 7-9 shooting as the Tigers steadily pulled away from Rider for a 62-45 victory.
"He hasn't gotten many reps - I'll say that," Henderson remarked about his young center. "He's just a player and he's capable of doing a lot of things."
Consider Brase's open to the contest - two free throws, an assist on a Will Barrett three pointer, a charge taken, a second assist resulting in an Ian Hummer jumper and a curling layup - all before the first media time out.
Up 11 with nine minutes to go Princeton scored nine straight to lock down the victory as Brase added a pair of layups while taking a second charge in-between.
"I'm trying to do whatever the team needs," Brase said quietly after his efficient and exciting night was done. "If I need to play center, I'll play center."
While the Tigers committed 14 turnovers they far were more aggressive against the Broncs' pressure than they had been versus similar opponents in 2012-13, which helped create a number of layups and dunks. Princeton had almost as many points in the paint (44) as Rider totaled overall (45).
Not to be overlooked in Brase's breakout was 15 tallies for Hummer along with seven rebounds and five assists against one turnover and sophomore Denton Koon's career high 15.
Anthony Myles' 18 paced Rider in defeat. The Broncs led for just a single first half possession.
A complete recap plus postgame audio from Henderson, Brase & Koon can be found after the jump.
One more rebound and we have a totally different record.
Our record is what it is and we're playing the way we are but we need to change it."
- Ian Hummer
Unfortunately, a nagging feeling will pervade Princeton basketball games for the remainder of 2012-13 until there is a reason for it not to.
Like an increasingly uncomfortable itch on the back of your head that no amount of scratching can rectify, the prevailing sense that a lead of any size at any juncture could dissipate will loom.
A season that has already seen the 3-6 Tigers let an 18 point advantage with 13 minutes to go versus Northeastern get away, a 38-31 edge in the final 5:10 at Wagner disintegrate into overtime and a contest they led for 32 minutes of by as many as 13 turn Drexel’s way late found a new manner to deliver agony as a one win Fordham squad came from 10 points down in the final three minutes to further traumatize Princeton, 63-60.
“I am very surprised at this group and what happens to us at the end of games,” admitted head coach Mitch Henderson. “It is concerning and it starts from within. We have to change it.”
What made this loss especially agonizing was that a second half tactical decision on Henderson’s part started a 12-0 run that seemed to have provided Princeton with what should have been enough to secure the victory.
The rest of this recap plus postgame audio from Henderson, Hans Brase & Ian Hummer can be found after the jump.
Howie Levy jokingly called it "getting the monkey off his back," but for the first time in five meetings over the past five years the Mercer County Community College finally defeated Princeton' J.V.
Leading 33-32 in the second half, the Vikings (6-3) went on a 12-0 run sparked by the play of sophomore center Filip Sekulic, who recently accepted a full scholarship at Chestnut Hill College.
Sekulic had eight straight during this stretch, including a soft baseline jumper, a two-handed slam and a wild finish after bumping off of Princeton's Bobby Garbade in mid-air.
While some late three point shooting from the Tigers' Ameer Elbuluk helped his team close the deficit in the final minutes, MCCC held on at the free throw line.
Princeton's best chance came on a contested three from Mike Washington, Jr. at the top of the arc with the score favoring Mercer 49-46 with less than 2:45 remaining.
Postgame audio from Howie Levy, a scoring breakdown for the Tigers, some additional notes and even a video montage can all be found after the jump.
If you were to just glance past the final score of Fairfield's 65-52 victory at Rider, you would have no idea what a ridiculous basketball game this was, full of impossible to comprehend statistical oddities.
Read on for a series of bullet point observations on the Stags as well as a few details about the Broncs, who Princeton shall face at Jadwin Gym in 11 days.
Postgame audio from Sydney Johnson can also be found after the jump.
princetonbasketball.com was founded on April 28th, 1998 in an attempt to provide fans of the Princeton Tigers and Ivy League basketball with the best on-line source for up-to-date news and information. We have since expanded to launch a companion site, Georgetown Basketball News.
As these sites have continued to grow we have increased our coverage to include additional teams with Princeton connections - the Richmond Spiders, Denver Pioneers, Oregon State Beavers, Fairfield Stags and Mercer County Community College Vikings - plus former Tigers playing professional baseball and basketball all over the world. This site is not directly affiliated with the Friends of Princeton Basketball, Princeton University or the Princeton athletic department.
Sun. 11/10 vs. Florida A&M
Sat. 11/16 at Butler
Wed. 11/20 vs. Lafayette
Sat. 11/23 at Rice
Tue. 11/26 vs. George Mason
Sat. 11/30 at Bucknell
Sat. 12/7 vs. FDU
Wed. 12/11 at Rutgers
Sat. 12/14 at Penn State
Fri. 12/20 vs. Portland*
Sat. 12/21 vs. Pacific*
Tue. 12/31 vs. Kent State
Sat. 1/4 at Liberty
Sat. 1/11 at Penn
Sun. 1/26 vs. Kean
Fri. 1/31 at Harvard
Sat. 2/1 at Dartmouth
Fri. 2/7 vs. Columbia
Sat. 2/8 vs. Cornell
Fri. 2/14 at Brown
Sat. 2/15 at Yale
Fri. 2/21 vs. Dartmouth
Sat. 2/22 vs. Harvard
Fri. 2/28 vs. Yale
Sat. 3/1 vs. Brown
Fri. 3/7 at Cornell
Sat. 3/8 at Columbia
Tue. 3/11 vs. Penn
2,503 - B. Bradley, 1962-65
1,625 - I. Hummer, 2009-13
1,550 - D. Davis, 2008-12
1,546 - K. Mueller, 1987-91
1,451 - P. Campbell, 1959-62
1,441 - C. Robinson, 1979-83
1,428 - B. Earl, 1995-99
1,365 - B. Scrabis, 1985-89
1,321 - G. Petrie, 1967-70
1,292 - H. Haabestad, 1952-55
1,277 - G. Lewullis, 1995-99
1,239 - B. Taylor, 1970-72
1,207 - S. Goodrich 1994-98
1,133 - F. Sowinski, 1975-78
1,130 - R. Hielscher, 1991-95
1,122 - C. Thomforde, 1966-69
1,099 - T. Manakas, 1970-73
1,090 - J. Wallace, 2001-05
1,088 - C. Belz, 1956-59
1,079 - B. Hauptfuhrer, 1973-76
1,076 - B. Roma, 1976-79
1,071 - C. Mooney, 1990-94
1,064 - A. Hyland, Jr., 1960-63
1,062 - L. Brangan, 1957-60
1,057 - A. Hill, 1973-76
1,054 - D. Mavraides, 2007-11
1,044 - S. Johnson, 1993-1997
1,031 - J. Hummer, 1967-70
1,010 - W. Venable, 2001-05
