box score
audio - coach sydney johnson & nick lake
When Lehigh's Zahir Carrington scored in the paint with 16:17 remaining in regulation, he increased his impressive point total to 24.
Single-handedly matching Princeton on the scoreboard.
The Tigers fell for a program-worst 11th consecutive time on Sunday - laboring to put the ball in the basket and unable to stop their opponent in a 68-49 loss to the Mountain Hawks.
Carrington finished with a career-high 27. Rob Keefer had 16 off the bench, 14 in the first half.
Nick Lake and Kareem Maddox both recorded a team-best eight points for the Tigers.
"We've struggled consistently to score, I think that's readily apparent" said Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson. "At stretches we have played well defensively. We can't sustain that effort for 40 minutes."
The victory was Lehigh's first over Princeton at home in eight tries and the first time the Tigers had been defeated by Lehigh since 1930.
Princeton trailed by double figures for the final three quarters of the game, initially falling behind 6-0. The Tigers missed two early layups - center Zach Finley could not complete a strong move in traffic and co-captain Kyle Koncz came up just short trying to finish off a back door cut.
Noah Savage sized up a three point shot to cut Lehigh's early lead in half, but this was immediately followed by nine more for the Mountain Hawks. A pass inside to Brian White made the score 15-3.
Trying to find a combination that played well together meant rotating a cast of Tigers from every level of the imaginary depth chart in and out of action. Nine different Princeton players saw at least 12 minutes of court time, with Savage playing just nine minutes as a starter and Michael Strittmatter seeing four minutes of action, all in the first half.
Guard Marcus Schroeder, who had started all 40 games in his two years at Princeton, never left the bench against Lehigh in what Johnson said was a "coaching decision." Schroeder is not injured and was not being punished for violating a team rule. Senior Kevin Steuerer started in Schroeder's place, going scoreless with four assists.
"When you struggle to score and you're not guarding enough, you're not helping yourself enough" observed Johnson about Princeton's difficulties this season.
This was an apt description of today's action as well. Princeton could not contain Carrington's arsenal of post moves, while the Tigers did not score from inside the three point line until Alex Okafor's jump hook made the score 27-14 with 6:46 to go in the first stanza.
Princeton's leading scorer this year, Zach Finley, was kept off the scoreboard until the second half.
Kareem Maddox's points all came in the game's final eight minutes, half on a four point play.
Notes:
-Princeton was 19-51 from the field against Lehigh (37.3%), 9-25 from behind the arc (36.0%).
-The Tigers went to the free throw line four times, making half of their attempts (50.0%). Princeton did not get to the line until 10:15 remained when Alex Okafor made one of two free throws. Lehigh attempted 26 free throws on Sunday, converting 23 (88.5%).
-Princeton had 16 assists and 17 turnovers versus the Mountain Hawks.
-Freshman guard Bobby Foley scored his first points for Princeton on two three point shots coming off near-identical designed inbounds plays.
-Lafayette visits Jadwin Gym on Wednesday night at 7:30 pm ET in Princeton's final game before the January exam break.
