Princeton had its lowest point total since a forgettable 41-21 loss to Monmouth in December of 2005, falling flat at Evansville this evening by a 53-32 score.
Noah Savage recorded 12 points for the Tigers on 5-10 shooting. No other Princeton player had more than four.
Until Kyle Koncz and Lincoln Gunn connected on back-to-back three point shots with 11:21 to go in the second half, Princeton had more shot clock violations (2) than made three pointers (1).
Gunn, the Tigers' second-leading scorer and top three point threat, was shut down defensively by the Purple Aces' Jay Couisnard, who kept his body tight on Princeton's sophomore sharpshooter all game. Gunn's only field goal came after a deflection caused Evansville to end up out-of-position on defense. The rest of the night Couisnard made Gunn's short stay in Evansville extremely unpleasant.
Both teams got off to slow starts offensively. A floater in the lane by center Zach Finley gave the Tigers a 6-5 lead. Finley picked up two personal fouls early in the first half for the second straight game and Princeton's starting center was replaced by Pawel Buczak. Finley would spend the final thirteen minutes before the break on the pine.
Shy Ely's baseline jumper put Evansville in front for good and Kavon Lacey came off the bench for a three point shot on the left side that sent the Purple Aces up four, starting a big run for the home team.
Kyle Koncz was long on an open three point shot in the far corner and a posting Matt Sargeant's pass to Savage outside the arc for a clean look was not converted. The Tigers were 0-5 from the perimeter in the first half.
When the Purple Aces' scoring streak ended, Evansville had run off 17 straight to move in front 22-6, the spurt concluding on a foul line turnaround jumper by Ely.
Shy Ely was anything but for Evansville, scoring 12 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the game.
With Buczak and Alex Okafor both ineffective at center in place of Finley, Noah Savage played center for Princeton in the last four minutes of the first half.
The Tigers would head into the locker room down 29-12. Princeton was outrebounded 19-7 in the first twenty minutes.
Neither team could get much going after the break. Evansville recorded just one field goal in the first 6:24 of the second half. Savage had a hooker in the lane on a designed inbounds that he followed with a deep three point shot and Princeton was down 14. The Tigers had a chance to cut into the Evansville lead next time down the court, but Savage's cross-court pass was picked off.
An open triple from Jason Holsinger and another Ely jumper boosted the lead up to 20 for the first time with 12:32 remaining and the end result was never in doubt. Both teams went through the motions as the clock ticked towards inevitability. Princeton would never get closer than 16 in the last ten minutes as both benches emptied.
After a series of steady steps in the right direction, Princeton had taken an unexpected dive south in southern Indiana.
Notes:
-Princeton was 13-39 from the floor (33.3%), 6-21 in the first half (28.6%).
-The 32 points were the fewest allowed by Evansville since they defeated Northwestern 48-26 in 1999.
-The Tigers did not attempt a free throw until Savage was hammered driving baseline with 4:47 left to play. Savage made one of two attempts.
-Princeton had 15 turnovers and just three assists.
-Michael Strittmatter suited up for the first time this season, entering the game late in the first half. Strittmatter played 10 minutes at forward, scoring four points.
-Jason Briggs scored his first collegiate points on two free throws late in the second half. Briggs played a career-high 12 minutes, including the last four minutes of the first half.
-Zach Woolridge saw two minutes of action, his first court time since the Tigers' win over Rice at the start of 2007.
-Princeton is next in action one week from tonight at Penn State. The game will be televised by ESPNU. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.
