box score
audio - coach sydney johnson & kyle koncz
A long losing streak came to an end on Sunday afternoon.
Unfortunately for the Princeton Tigers, it wasn't theirs.
Monmouth stopped a seven game slide with a 59-50 victory over the visitors from Princeton.
The Tigers fell for the tenth straight time, tying the school record for consecutive defeats.
Whitney Coleman led three Hawks in double figures with 13 points. Reserve center Dutch Gaitley, who had a previous career high of five points, scored 12 for Monmouth and grabbed nine rebounds.
Kyle Koncz recorded a game-high 14 for Princeton, including three shots from behind the arc. Zach Finley added 12 on 6-14 shooting. No other Tiger scored more than five points.
Looking to get back in the win column in the final game of a forgettable calendar year, Lincoln Gunn opened Princeton's afternoon with a promising line drive three point shot on the wing.
James Hett was trapped in the air under his own basket, but found Alex Nunner up top for a three pojnt shot that tied the score for the only time all day. Monmouth would take the lead on a lob pass to Nick Deltufo.
Kyle Koncz tossed in a shot from the far corner after the ball had gone inside to Zach Finley, and Princeton trailed 7-6.
A baseline drive from Jhamar Youngblood and a missed defensive assignment in Princeton's 3-2 zone that left Yaniv Simpson open outside extended the Monmouth edge to 12-6.
Michael Strittmatter came off the bench at the center position to help the Tigers' offense on consecutive possessions. Princeton would pull back to within one on a diagonal pass from Strittmatter on the high block to Kyle Koncz cross court for three which was followed by a jump hook from Strittmatter. 9:42 remained in the first half.
Strittmatter, facing single coverage, went into his post move only after his head coach emphatically screamed "You! You!" from the bench.
An inbounds pass from under the Monmouth basket to a slicing R.J. Rutledge moved the lead up to three. Rutledge was wide open outside a minute later and fired in a triple after taking a Simpson pass.
It was the start of a 20-10 Hawk run that finished the half.
Gaitley's two free throws after splitting a pair of Tiger defenders inside gave Monmouth a 25-17 advantage at the 2:56 mark and Gaitley was able to get a wild shot to fall while being fouled by Marcus Schroeder that took the lead up to 11.
Following Monmouth's victory, Gailtley spoke about how Princeton never doubled the post on defense, so he had to stay patient until teammates cut through the paint before he made his move inside.
The lead was the same heading into halftime following two free throws by Youngblood. Youngblood was fouled by Matt Sargeant on a drive to the basket with time running out. Sargeant pled his case to the officials, but the whistle stood.
In the first twenty minutes, Princeton was 9-26 from the field (34.6%), 3-13 from outside (23.1%) and did not attempt a free throw. Monmouth was an efficient 10-18 from the field (55.6%), 4-10 behind the arc (40.0%) and 8-9 at the line (88.9%).
Princeton turned the ball over seven times and handed out four assists in the opening half.
The second half had a different energy from the moment Monmouth inbounded the ball. An errant Hawk pass bounded harmlessly out of bounds and Gunn fed Finley at the opposite end of the court to bring the deficit down to nine. A second Monmouth turnover ended up in Gunn's hands and in transition Gunn passed to Savage trailing behind the arc. Savage used a screen to size up his first three point shot in the last three games and the Tigers were within six.
Monmouth immediately called time out as Princeton's bench came to its feet.
The Tigers' pressure continued for the entirely of the subsequent Hawk possession. Monmouth struggled to find an opening in Princeton's swarming defense and the home team had to settle for a forced three point shot by Whitney Coleman at the shot clock buzzer. Coleman was able to get his demoralizing shot on target, lifting Monmouth back up by nine and sagging Princeton's shoulders.
Youngblood scored inside to make the score 39-28 with 16:25 to go. Noah Savage banked home an inbounds lob and was fouled by Simpson, but the following free throw was too strong.
Simpson faked a three and stepped inside the arc for a long deuce and the lead was back at 11. Princeton would not dig out from under double digits until Marcus Schroeder pulled up for his only field goal in the game's final seconds.
Monmouth's advantage would expand to as many as eighteen before all was said and done.
Coach Johnson tried a variety of combinations and play calls in the second half, looking for a spark from his bench but Princeton could not string multiple good offensive possessions together.
Bobby Foley played seven minutes for Princeton, and while he missed all three of his three point shots, he looked comfortable as part of the rotation.
"We feel like there are some games in here where we should start establishing ourselves and carrying over some of the lessons that we've learned and we're not doing it" said Coach Johnson following his team's loss. "That's really, really, really hard to take...I think that we have the talent in our locker room to win some of these games."
Monmouth shot a season-best 54.1% for the day, the seventh Princeton opponent to make at least half of their shots.
Notes:
-The Tigers were 20-50 in the game (40.0%), attempting 13 more field goals than the Hawks. Princeton was 6-22 from behind the arc (27.3%) and 4-7 at the charity stripe (57.1%).
-Both teams grabbed 27 rebounds, with Princeton having a 12-6 edge on the offensive glass.
-Kyle Koncz connected on at least three three point shots for the 16th time over the past two seasons. Koncz and Savage each have 126 three pointers as Tigers, tied for 10th place all time.
-Princeton has now lost 13 consecutive road games. The Tigers did not win a road game in 2007. Princeton's last road victory was a 57-46 win at Iona on December 30th, 2006.
-The Tigers finished 2007 with a woeful 5-23 record.
-Princeton is next in action a week from today at Lehigh. The game begins at 1:00 pm ET.
