box score
audio - coach sydney johnson, zach woolridge & kareem maddox
Zach Woolridge waited nearly four full seasons on the bench for his name to be called.
His freshman year, he did not make it into a single game. He could have walked away, but he didn't.
His sophomore year, he played one single minute. He could have walked away, but he didn't.
His junior year, he again played only one single minute. He could have walked away, but he didn't.
Woolridge waited for most of his senior year as well, playing eight minutes spread over eight games this season, scoring the only five points of his career in the second half of a long-decided game at Dartmouth two weeks ago.
But earlier this week, Woolridge began to practice with the first team. Woolridge's coach told him that he would be in the starting lineup on Friday against Columbia.
"I think I would be a bad coach if I didn't acknowledge the effort that he's given," confessed Princeton head man Sydney Johnson. "I said I have to find a way to get him out there."
Woolridge caught Columbia off-guard with 15 first half points, playing all 20 minutes before intermission in what would become a 75-64 Princeton victory.
The Tigers opened up an early 14-10 lead behind eight points from Woolridge.
Following a lefty runner by Columbia's Mack Montgomery, Woolridge drove hard and was fouled by Ben Nwachukwu while scoring. Jason Briggs hit a cutting Noah Savage down the center of the lane and Savage left the ball for Woolridge on the right baseline to make the score 5-4 Tigers. After Niko Scott pulled up in the lane, Woolridge's first three point shot of his career boosted Princeton's lead back up to four.
The advantage would reach 21-14 when Nick Lake went around Asenso Ampim under the Princeton basket for a reverse lay-in and Kevin Steuerer then found Lake on a lob cut down the left side.
Columbia crept to within 28-26 at the 2:27 mark on a pull-up jumper by Scott, but Noah Savage created some space deep behind the arc with a crossover dribble and connected on his second three of the first half. Jason Briggs switched hands on a drive into the paint for two.
Scott seized on a split second of indecision between Briggs and Kyle Koncz, as each defender sagged for an instant to leave Scott with enough room to get a clean look on the perimeter. Leading 36-30 and holding for the final shot of the half, Savage's high-arcing jumper over Baumann dove through the netting as time ran out, sending Princeton off the floor up by eight.
If the first half story had been Zach Woolridge, the second half's surprise star was long-armed Princeton freshman Kareem Maddox.
When Woolridge came out for the first time, at the 17:16 mark of the second half, he was replaced by Maddox. Maddox went on to score a career-best 14 points on 6-9 shooting, showing a deft touch and a soft mid-range game away from the rim.
"[Woolridge and Maddox] surprised our guys," admitted Columbia head coach Joe Jones. "Once they got it going, they were hard to stop."
Columbia cut Princeton's lead down to 38-34 early in the second period on a Baumann bank that rolled in.
The loose balls and deflections Princeton had been unable to control in the second half at Levien Gym started to go Princeton's way at Jadwin. Savage put back an errant Koncz triple to make the lead six again.
Kyle Koncz kept a Princeton possession alive when he slapped Nick Lake's missed three point shot back to Maddox in front of Columbia's basket for an easy lay-in.
Baumann was whistled for an offensive foul elbowing Briggs in the face trying to post up and at the other end of the court Maddox took an entry pass from Savage, hesitated in the paint and scored while drawing contact from Kevin Bulger. Princeton had its biggest lead of the game, 45-34.
Unlike the conference losses earlier this season where Princeton fell to pieces trying to hold a lead in the second half, the Tigers made a concerted effort to be the aggressors against Columbia - moving faster on offense and attacking the opposition.
Consecutive baseline jumpers from Maddox kept Columbia at bay and helped Princeton double a six point lead into a 53-41 advantage.
The Lions were back within eight again with just under five minutes to play. Noah Savage had the ball in the post and spun to the basket, firing a pass down the baseline to waiting co-captain Kyle Koncz for his only field goal of the game, the 152nd three point shot of his Princeton career.
Columbia, with only four personal fouls to this point, made the tactical decision to start fouling Princeton with 2:28 left in regulation. The Tigers made eight straight free throws and the Lions could not get any closer than eight points down the stretch.
"He's making me look bad, guys" joked coach Sydney Johnson to the media about Woolridge's performance, which helped spark Princeton's third Ivy League victory of the year.
"He's a guy that I'm just so impressed with and admire, because of how he's handled waiting his turn, to be honest not getting a turn, and yet he's continued to battle and he's continued to work hard in practice," said Johnson about the senior from Sherman Oaks, California.
"He's everything that a Princeton University student athlete could be, so for him to come out and have the game of his life. I'm just happy for him. I was in a little bit of awe, but I was happy for him. He gave us a boost."
"Thankfully tonight he played and he looked terrific and I look like John Wooden and I'm not."
Had Woolridge ever given up on the thought of playing meaningful minutes during four years of watching and waiting? "I just pushed every day and kept the idea in the back of my mind - hopefully I'll get to play, if not, that's just how it is going to be," Woolridge said. "I just tried to keep a level head about it and went hard every day."
Notes:
-Princeton was 25-47 from the field on Friday night (53.2%), shooting 14-23 in the first half (60.9%).
-The Tigers went to the free throw line 22 times, making 18 of those attempts (81.8%). Columbia was 6-11 at the line (54.5%).
-Noah Savage was the Tigers' high man with 18. John Baumann paced Columbia in defeat with 21 points inside and sophomore Nike Scott also had 20.
-The Lions' leading three point shooter, K.J. Matsui, did not attempt a field goal against Princeton.
-Columbia lost for the 15th consecutive time at Jadwin Gym.
-Princeton's leading scorer, Zach Finley, missed the Columbia game with an ankle injury. Coach Johnson said following the game that he hoped the Tigers' trainers could be aggressive with Finley's treatment and "sneak him out tomorrow" against Cornell.
-The Tigers host the Ivy League champion Big Red at 7:30 pm ET on Saturday night.
