box score
audio - coach sydney johnson & lincoln gunn
The Devils changed from Blue to Sun, but on the second day of the EA Sports 2007 Maui Invitational the results were the same for Princeton at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Arizona State used a halftime-spanning 15-4 run to open up a close game, pulling away for a 61-42 victory.
The Sun Devils' freshmen backcourt of James Harden (22 points) and Ty Abbott (19 points) combined for one point less than the entire Princeton team recorded.
Marcus Schroeder was the only Tiger in double figures, tallying 12 on 5-7 shooting.
Princeton took an early 6-2 lead on consecutive three point shots from Kyle Koncz in one corner and Marcus Schroder in the opposite corner. The conversion was Koncz's only connection from deep. The next nine attempts for the senior from Strongsville, Ohio were all off the mark. Koncz finished a woeful 2-11 from the floor.
The Tigers got many open looks in the first half, and the majority of these shots were the kind the coaching staff wants them to take. "It just didn't drop" said Coach Sydney Johnson afterwards. Princeton was 5-26 from outside against Arizona State, 1-12 in the second half.
Assisted by three consecutive shots behind the arc by Abbott, Arizona State pulled in front 15-9. The Tigers were down 23-15 after Abbott's fourth triple, a deep jumper beyond the extended arm of Kyle Koncz, a second late rotating over.
Princeton ran off the game's next ten points to take a single basket lead. Noah Savage answered Abbott with his only three of the day to bring the Tigers within five. A free throw distance jumper from Jeff Pendergraph was too strong and Alex Okafor rebounded. Marcus Schroeder drove to his left and scooped a shot up and in an instant before he found himself under the rim.
Koncz took a change from Pendergraph in the post and at the opposite end of the court Savage drove baseline and was fouled, converting both free throws. The Tigers had closed the lead to one.
Gunn cut into the lane and passed across his body to Schroeder for another three to put Princeton in front 25-23 with 3:57 remaining. Eric Boateng scored inside on Okafor to tie the score on the next Arizona State possession.
With just over two mintures left before the break Savage slipped dribbling on the perimeter and lost the ball, which ended up in the hands of Derek Glasser. Glasser dished to a trailing James Harden who went up for a layup that spun around the iron three times before dropping home.
A wide open Koncz three point shot created by a Gunn swing pass just before the halftime buzzer was errant and the Tigers headed up to their locker room trailing 31-27.
"Overall I was pretty pleased with some of the shots we got" said Johnson about his team's shot selection. Princeton was 9-23 from the field before halftime (39.1%). Arizona State shot 11-25 (44.0%).
It was the Sun Devils' ball to start play after the break. Abbott's fifth deep dagger took the ASU lead up to seven the first time down the court. Consecutive passes by Schroeder at the top of the key were both intercepted. The first turnover did not hurt Princeton, as Ship's three rimmed out, but the second pickoff was converted into a James Harden drive.
Jerren Shipp's pull up jumper boosted the Sun Devils' lead to double figures for the first time heading into the under-16:00 media time out. Princeton closed the gap to 42-34 on a dead-on Gunn three and a drive from Schroeder, but Arizona State immediately ran off nine of the game's next 11 points to put things out of reach.
The Sun Devils' defensive adjustments early in the second half took away many of Princeton's traditional passing lanes from the top of the zone. Tigers had to work hard on the perimeter to get the same open looks they had seen in the game's first twenty minutes. With center Zach Finley unable to get touches inside, the offense had to go from side-to-side instead of inside-out.
Princeton did not score a field goal over the final seven minutes of regulation. Nick Lake's two free throws with 41 seconds to play were the Tigers' only points during this stretch.
Notes:
-Arizona State won the battle of the boards 27-24.
-The Sun Devils were 23-45 from the field in the game (51.1%). Princeton was 14-42 (33.3%).
-Princeton had 10 assists and 15 turnovers. The Tigers have a 53:61 negative ratio after their first four games of the season. Lincoln Gunn has 17 of these Princeton assists.
-Zach Finley was 2-2 at the free throw line, improving to 10-16 from the charity stripe (62.5%) after being just 6-16 from the same location (37.5%) all of last season.
-The Tigers will play host school Chaminade in the 7th place game at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday. The game will be televised by ESPNU.
