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.
After trading away R.A. Dickey could the Mets be interested in bringing Chris Young back?
Around the Ivy League: Cornell (4-7) was game for a half versus top-ranked Duke, but the Blue Devils outscored the Big Red 47-17 in the back frame of an 88-47 final.
Princeton returns home looking for their first victory of the season at Jadwin Gym and Know! Your! Foe! is back with a preview of their opponent, the Rider Broncs.
Joining the site to answer my inquiries is Trentonian beat writer Kyle Franco, who almost certainly has seen more of the Broncs in person than you have.
My questions and his responses follow after the jump.
If you cover a team the Tigers will tackle down the line, let us know. I'd love to talk with you.
Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson and princetonbasketball.com editor Jon Solomon sat down at Jadwin Gym before practice today to record the most recent installment of their season-long weekly interview series.
Henderson and Solomon reviewed Princeton’s difficult loss to Fordham in detail and previewed the Tigers' hectic homestand versus Rider and Bucknell.
This exclusive Q&A available after the jump is 9:00+ in length. You can catch up on all of this season's discussions here.
Future Tiger Spencer Weisz had a double-double in Seton Hall Prep's season opener. Weisz followed that up with 23 points and seven steals last night against Columbia High School.
If you want to watch Amir Bell and East Brunswick defeat St. Joseph the entire game is archived here.
Mercer (8-3) won their annual early morning game at the Verizon Center, 71-66 over CCBC. Mustafa El-Amin had 22 once again for the Vikings.
A few hours later on the same floor Georgetown (9-1) bested Western Carolina, 81-68. Greg Whittington had a career high 25 for the Hoyas.
With a 76-57 win over Stetson, Richmond (9-2) is off to the school's best start in 25 years.
Denver (3-5) used a 25-0 run to rout Nebraska-Omaha, 82-47.
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.
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
