Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson:
Postgame audio - Marcus Schroeder:
When Princeton faced Columbia senior sharpshooter K.J. Matsui over the past four years, they held him in check.
Matsui is a great shooter (40.9% from three point range for his career), a poor ballhandler and a bad defender, so the Tigers understood that if Matsui couldn't get the ball in his hands, he couldn't hurt them. Faceguarding him and chasing him around multiple screens, the Tigers took this weapon out of Columbia's arsenal.
Matsui had cracked double figures just once in seven games against Princeton (16 in an overtime loss to the Tigers the first time he played them), and beyond that had never hit more than three three point shots in a game when up against the orange and black. The ball wasn't in his hands enough to make a significant impact.
On Friday night at Levien Gym, seeing the Tigers for a final time, Matsui helped extinguish Princeton's slim hopes of an Ivy League championship with 17 points, including five shots from outside the arc on eight attempts.
Columbia's 58-44 victory eliminated Princeton in the race for the Ivy title.
Two quick curls for early Matsui triples helped the Lions to a 10-2 lead out of the gate and back-to-back shots by Matsui with under seven minutes to go turned a five point lead into an 11 point cushion.
"We weren't focused [on Matsui]," said a dismayed Princeton coach Sydney Johnson. "It is just too bad, because I felt like he is a player that we can limit, and he has been held in check in the past, but we just weren't focused enough to do it."
Douglas Davis scored 10 for the Tigers, eight in the first half.
Both teams had trouble scoring to start the game. The Tigers picked up steals on Columbia's first three possessions, but were unable to capitalize.
Marcus Schroeder dove to the hardwood after tipping a pass to keep possession with the Tigers, but Schroeder was unaware of where he was on the floor and stepped on the sideline while Princeton was on offense.
A Dan Mavraides deflection ended up in the hands of Pawel Buczak, but Michael Strittmatter's jump hook in the post was too strong.
Buczak picked up a loose ball to give Princeton the ball. Mavraides tried a pull-up jumper that didn't fall.
Jason Miller's reverse layup three minutes in got Columbia on the board, though the Tigers remained scoreless until Patrick Saunders' skip pass to a driving Mavraides was laid home, making it 5-2 Lions with 15:25 showing.
Matsui pushed the lead to eight, but Schroeder answered with a three off the dribble and when Saunders went cross-court to Davis for three, the two teams were even at 12.
Matsui answered with his third triple to kick the Lions back in front.
Princeton took their first lead with 8:51 left when Buczak shimmied for a jump hook over Miller. Davis broke Columbia's zone with a deep jumper off a Schroeder assist and the Tigers were up 20-15.
A beautiful pass by Buczak out of the post to Saunders cutting down the lane gave Princeton a four point edge, which they carried into intermission. The Tigers shot 55.6% in the first half, but were held back by nine turnovers.
Like they struggled to start the game, Princeton had trouble putting the ball in the basket to begin the second half. This time the drought was longer, the hole they dug deeper and the time that expired lengthier.
Columbia scored the first 14 points when play resumed.
Jason Miller's jump hook off glass brought the Lions within two and Noruwa Agho's skip pass to Niko Scott for his first hoop of the night, a three on the left wing, gave Columbia a lead they would never give back.
Princeton forward Kareem Maddox blew a wide-open reverse layup, unsure if he should dunk the ball or place it home once he went up in the air under the basket. This resulted in an awkward hook shot that sailed completely over the rim.
An elbow jumper by Miller and a free throw distance shot from Agho inched Columbia's lead up to five and the Lions doubled their advantage with a five point possession.
Scott put back his own miss and was fouled by Mavraides. Scott missed his free throw, but the ball was slapped out to Kevin Bulger. Columbia's offense reset and a pass from Miller in the post went outside to Scott for a three that sent the Tigers down double digits.
The first Princeton field goal of the second half came over eight minutes in, as Buczak drove down the paint for two.
Schroeder's far corner three was on the mark with 9:46 to play to pull Princeton within four, Schroeder throwing both his arms in the air as the Tigers called time out to set their defense.
Miller scored inside for Columbia to take the lead to 36-30. Mavraides took a backdoor feed and gave up a contested layup for a pass to Schroeder setting up, this time in the near corner. Schroeder's open shot was short, but the ball was tied up on the rebound and possession stayed with Princeton. An entry pass to Zach Finley drew an immediate whistle as Finley shuffled his feet collecting the ball.
Saunders made it 38-33 with 7:09 left, taking a Davis pass off the drive and canning a baseline jumper.
Like he bookended his career against Princeton with his two biggest offensive games, Matsui bookended a Nick Lake carry with two jumpers that created Columbia's biggest lead.
Matsui got space on a hard screen and was able to flick one up in front of the Columbia bench over the oncoming Buczak.
A deep Matsui basket from the right wing gave Columbia an 11 point advantage. The Tigers would cut the margin to eight, but 8-8 shooting by the Lions at the free throw line iced the outcome.
It was hard for Coach Johnson to find a lineup that was effective offensively against Columbia. "I don't think our guys ever got a flow or our their confidence going on the offensive end," Johnson admitted.
The Lions were able to limit Princeton's advantage in the post that had been such an important factor when the two teams met at Jadwin.
"Columbia did a very good job of taking us out of our stuff. They were pressuring on the ball hard and they were hedging on ball screens," junior forward Marcus Schroeder said. "They did a good job of taking our big guys out of it a little bit too by doubling down."
"They were a lot more active than the first time we played them."
-Notes:
-Princeton finished 17-40 from the field (42.5%) but shot just 7-22 (31.8%) in the second half. The Tigers went 6-21 beyond the arc (28.6%) and 4-7 at the free throw line (57.1%). Columbia was 20-44 (45.5%), 7-17 outside (41.2%) and 11-15 from the charity stripe (73.3%).
-The Tigers outrebounded the Lions 30-22.
-Columbia had a 13:8 assist-to-turnover ratio. Princeton was 9:16.
-With his 10 points, Douglas Davis became the fifth Princeton freshman to score over 300 points in a season. Davis has 307 this season, 12 behind John Smyth (82-83) and 22 in back of Kit Mueller (87-88).
-After the final buzzer and traditional postgame handshakes, Johnson kept his team on the sidelines for an impromptu huddle. The message, according to Schroeder, was clear and to the point - "We don't want to feel like this anymore. Losing is not fun."
-Congratulations to the Cornell Big Red, the 2008-09 Ivy League champions.
