box score
audio - coach sydney johnson
audio - lincoln gunn
Like the deflections at critical junctures of the second half they could not control, a victory slipped through Princeton's fingers on Saturday night at Columbia.
The Lions rallied for a 58-53 win that sent the Tigers home winless from their weekend in New York State.
Niko Scott led Columbia with 12 points. John Baumann scored 10 in the first half for the Lions, but did not attempt a field goal after intermission.
Lincoln Gunn was the game's high man, tallying 17 on 7-13 shooting. Noah Savage added 12 and Kyle Koncz had 11 in defeat.
Princeton opened the game with a 10-5 run as Koncz used a high screen to size up his first of three shots from behind the arc.
The Tiger advantage was 12-8 at the 13:33 mark on two Savage free throws. Columbia held Princeton without a field goal for a five minute stretch, running off nine consecutive points. Kashif Sweet cut baseline as Baumann cleared a lane by bulldozing his man out of the picture. Baumann was guarded in the post by Marcus Schroeder at the end of the next Columbia possession and took advantage of this mismatch.
Princeton trailed 22-16 when Baumann scored inside and was fouled by Gunn.
Kyle Koncz drove from the top of the arc and Savage filled the vacated slot for an open three pointer. Baumann somehow missed from point blank range and when the ball rolled off the cylinder Schroeder snatched a tough rebound and drove the length of the court for two.
Gunn had the ball stripped clean by Kevin Bulger in the final minute of the half and a Columbia break ended with Baumann being fouled from behind by Gunn. One of two free throws made the score 25-23 Lions. Princeton called time with :27.2 to set up the final shot of the stanza, but the last option was not the best option - a 30 foot jumper by Gunn that never had a chance. Columbia led by two at the break.
In the first 20 minutes Princeton was 8-24 from the field (33.3%) and 3-14 from deep (21.4%). Princeton was 4-6 at the free throw line (66.7%) including two shots by Zach Finley in as many attempts. Columbia was 9-19 (47.4%) and 3-5 outside (60.0%). The Lions went 4-8 from the stripe (50.0%).
Princeton scored seven straight to start the second half. Brett Loscalzo's three point attempt from in front of the Columbia bench came up short, but Lincoln Gunn was on target as Koncz swung the ball his way.
Finley got deep position on Baumann and laid the ball home to make it 28-25 Tigers. When Kevin Steuerer floated a one hander in the lane down the drain Columbia called time with 17:33 on the clock.
Out of the huddle both Columbia's Niko Scott and Koncz were off the mark on wide open three point shots that could have changed the tenor of the game in different directions.
A miss by Scott dribbled out to Joe Bova behind the arc as Princeton could not track the ball down and the second chance was true. For the most part Princeton did a good job at Levien Gymnasium of limiting Columbia's attempts from outside, but loose balls that caused the Tiger defense to scramble out of position gave the Lions their best chances to strike.
Leading 32-30, Savage dribbled at Koncz, handing off on a screen that Koncz used for a three. Ben Nwachukwu made one of two free throws after being fouled by Savage on a hook. The next time down the court Savage immediately took advantage of a different zone look thrown in by the Lions, connecting from outside on a Gunn assist. Princeton was up by seven.
K.J. Matsui answered from well behind the arc and following a shuffle of Kevin Steuerer's feet, Matsui threw a crazy skip pass from the near corner to the far corner that reached Niko Scott's hands. Scott's attempt from deep kissed the front of the rim, hopped high in the air and came down inside the friendly confines of the basket to quickly take the Tiger lead down to a single point.
Koncz curled around the side of the arc and fired up another three as Gunn's pass met him in stride. A two-handed lay-in by Ampim cut the lead in half but a Kevin Steuerer outlet pass found Gunn ahead of the pack to double the advantage again.
Gunn hedged his bets on defense coming out of a Columbia time out with 9:02 on the clock. Caught between two men, he could pick up Matsui in the corner or Scott on the wing. Gunn angled toward the 54% three point shooter and Scott, shooting 26% from three point range on the season, made it a one point game.
With Matsui a defensive liability, Princeton tried to isolate this weakness and take the ball right at him. Kevin Steuerer could not complete a decent drive and the next time Princeton had the ball Steuerer was called for a hook as he raced away from Matsui in the post.
A entry pass to Baumann was tipped away by Princeton, but the ball trickled away from two Tigers in the paint and Columbia quickly swung the ball from Loscalzo out to Matsui as the Princeton looked to reset for the shot that gave Columbia the lead for the first time since the score was 25-23.
Steuerer lost possession on a third drive to the hole but Columbia could not extend their lead as Baumann was whistled for steps trying to evade two Tigers.
Koncz was the next to draw the officials' attention, called for an illegal screen.
Mack Montgomery, scoreless up to this point, canned a dead-on jumper from just inside the free throw line that made the score 47-43 with 6:10 to go.
Savage drove hard on Baumann and got the call. One of his two free throws were good.
Montgomery, who would score all eight of his points in the final six minutes of play, hopped in the lane and went glass to make it 49-44.
Neither team could score over the next three minutes, full of sloppy miscues and missed opportunities by both sides.
A deep Savage three came up short. Koncz got wide open but could not convert from outside.
Baumann was fouled by Koncz, the Tiger captain's fourth personal. Baumann could not convert the front end of his one-and-one opportunity, part of a 4-9 evening at the line.
A lob to Finley was nicked and a long scrum resulted as the officials did not whistle a tie-up. Eventually the ball bounded away from the growing pile of arms and legs and was ruled to have last touched Koncz on its way off out of frame.
Schroeder slid under a driving Baumann and drew a charge.
Gunn was called for a five second violation as he dribbled around looking for an open man.
The mutual drought ended when Kevin Steuerer's poor throw across the free throw line was picked off by Niko Scott. Montgomery took the outlet and soared to the basket. This time Schroeder could not get his feet set. The whistle sounded. The ball fell through the iron. The free throw was good and the Tigers were down seven.
Lincoln Gunn kept Princeton in the conversation when he put back a Savage three that sailed over the iron and was fouled. Following two Loscalzo free throws Gunn pulled up at the top of the key for three and Princeton was behind by four with 40 seconds left.
Kevin Bulger missed two free throws and Princeton had a slim chance. Zach Finley attempted to set a high screen with a dribble handoff to Savage but Montgomery stepped between the two teammates and ripped the ball free, driving ahead for a layup that sealed the Tigers' fate.
What went wrong in the final eight minutes? "We got right to the moment and there was a little bit of an effort breakdown and a little bit of a mental breakdown" said Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson after the game.
Lincoln Gunn was even more succinct in his assessment - "They made a couple more hustle plays than we did" added a dejected Gunn.
"A couple balls didn't go our way."
Notes:
-Princeton was 19-47 from the field in the loss (40.4%). The Tigers shot 8-27 from deep (29.6%) and were 7-11 at the free throw line (63.6%). Columbia went 20-39 in the game (51.3%), 8-14 from outside (57.1%) and a horrible 10-20 at the stripe (50.0%).
-After going 1-12 at the free throw line over his previous 11 games, Zach Finley was a respectable 5-8 over the weekend.
-With his three conversions from behind the arc, Kyle Koncz tied Ed Persia for sixth place all-time on Princeton's list of career three point field goals made. He is now 11 triples behind Bob Scrabis '89.
-Nick Lake's chin was bloodied shortly after he came off the bench in the first half. Lake had to switch from his crimson-stained #11 jersey to #15 when he was able to return. Princeton trainer Jen Lister was unsure after the game if Lake would require stitches.
-Princeton is 0-8 on the road this season and has lost their last 16 road games.
-The cast of MTV sketch show Human Giant taped a piece at halftime, firing an endless number of t-shirts into the crowd via air canons.
-Cornell defeated Penn in Ithaca and now holds at least a two game lead on all seven Ivy teams chasing them with eight games to play.
-Princeton travels to Penn on Tuesday night. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm ET start and will be televised by CN8.
