I had such a good time putting together Rutgers: Past, Present, Future last week that I decided to dig into the archives once more and pull up what I wrote the prior two times Princeton played Rider. This home and home series took place in 2001 and 2002. Full recaps of both contests can be found after the jump.
November 28th, 2001 - Princeton 69 Rider 57
The Tigers ended a three game losing streak to open their season away from home with a win at Jadwin over the Broncs. This was the first meeting between Princeton and Rider since 1946.
I'm not the first to say it, and in fact I'm sure I've even said it here before; If you make your shots, you win a lot of basketball games.
Princeton shot the ball well, made more free throws tonight than they had in their three previous games combined and were able to build a twenty-one point lead over cross-county rivals Rider with 13:50 to go in the game before the Broncos made a push to get as close as seven points with 1:21 remaining. The final score was 69-57 Tigers to give Princeton their first victory this season and remove an
ever-growing albatross from their collective backs.
At his postgame press conference Coach John Thompson appeared pleased with the Tigers' defensive efforts for the first 31-32 minutes of the game, as it was an improvement from the FIU game which, in turn, was a big improvement from the games in Berkeley. Ahmed El-Nokali was more concerned about the Tigers' offense, claiming that was area where the team needed the most improvement.
In the first half, Princeton made their shots and the Tigers' defense kept Rider out-of-sync. Rider's leading scorer, Mario Porter, did not hit a field goal in the first half. Princeton's first four baskets were three pointers as they opened a 12-5 lead.
Princeton made a point of "throwing it down [low]" in tonight's game. In the postgame Coach Thompson spoke about how this had been a focus for the team all week, as the Tigers needed to create situations where they could get fouled. Andre Logan and Kyle Wente both spent time posting up in the paint in addition to Konrad Wysocki or Dominic Martin posting as centers.
Logan had an excellent game, with 18 points and seven rebounds. Several of Logan's baskets were on controlled drives to the hoop. Rider Coach Don Harnum spoke after the game that when starting Bronco forward RJ Wicks got hurt, "[Rider's] other perimeter players were not capable of guarding Logan."
Martin's footwork in the second half was excellent. Although he picked up four fouls in just six minutes of play, Martin was able to repeatedly front Porter from getting the ball in the paint when Rider went to a four guard offense with Porter as the de facto center in an attempt to "go small." On one possession in particular, Rider tried to go to Porter three or four times but Martin was in front of Porter every time a Rider guard was looking to get the ball to him. Coach Thompson appears to want to give Martin more time than he is getting, saying "Dom helps our defense...when he's in our defense is a little better." Martin looked tentative on offense, but did score one field goal when he took an offensive rebound away from a Rider player for a layup.
This was a team that needed a win. Both Coach Thompson and El-Nokali spoke about how it had been "a long two weeks" since the season tipped off. The effort has been there in practices and the players have stayed focused, so a win goes a long way to keeping confidence intact, especially with the way the next month's schedule looks.
Will Venable played sixteen minutes, most in place of Mike Bechtold, and scored nine points. In the postgame Venable was upset that he had a turnover in the box score. Good to see this sort of attention to perfect play from a freshman!
Ed Persia had a poor game off the bench, turning the ball over five times and making bad decisions with his ball handling. Persia was able to get around high screens in a similar fashion to last year, but was never able to get around the screen fast enough to meet the ball and pop a jumper off. Persia appeared pretty disappointed with his play when he came out of the game.
Rider Coach Don Harnum said after the game that the Broncos' gameplan had been to force Princeton to make outside shots, which they did early, making Rider, in Coach Harnum's words, "jumpy." Princeton's matchup zone was "confusing to a young team" and "[their] decision making wasn't very good." By their own admission, Rider played a passive first half, and it was only once they were down 21 that they found a spark. At the start of the second half Rider made a point of going to a posting up Porter for two turnaround jumpers, but Martin's defense thwarted future attempts to pound the ball in low.
One thing I did not know was that Rider had scrimmaged Columbia earlier in the year, a game that certainly prepared the Broncos for some of the Tigers' sets.
The biggest negatives have to be 19 turnovers [eight in the first half] and converting just 22 of 33 free throws.
In the second half Princeton attempted just 13 shots [making eight] because of 17 Rider fouls. At two points in the second half the foul totals were Rider seven, Princeton zero and Rider 11, Princeton one. Rider kept holding Tiger cutters in the lane and the whistles kept ringing.
December 18th, 2002 - Rider 62 Princeton 59
The return game in this series was not played on the Broncs' campus in their 1,650 seat gym but instead at the far larger Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton. Despite the repeated efforts of the Trenton Times' Harvey Yavener to interest readers in this matchup, a neutral site meeting the week before Christmas didn't have great appeal. Several attempts were made in recent years to renew this rivalry but Princeton and Rider haven't played since. That changes tomorrow.
Very tough loss tonight, as Princeton controlled the game at both ends and out-hustled Rider for the first 30+ minutes. When the Broncos picked up the intensity down the stretch, the Tigers were unable to find answers after their shots stopped dropping. Princeton got the shots they wanted (as has been the case for much of this season), they just didn't make them.
In front of a sparse crowd at the Sovereign Bank Arena (attendance was listed as 3,018, and that is quite a generous number) Princeton raced to an early 6-0 lead on three pointers by Spencer Gloger and Ray Robins. After Robert Taylor answered with a three of his own for Rider, Judson Wallce tallied a layup and added two free throws on the Tigers' subsequent possession to make the score 10-3.
Princeton's lead extended to 20-9 after Kyle Wente cut backdoor and was found off the bounce pass by Wallace. 10:43 remained in the first half. Throughout the night, each time Princeton appeared poised to make the run that would push Rider away for good, the Broncos found a shot to stop their drought and keep the deficit in single digits. By being able to stay in the game, Rider was ready to make a move once Princeton's shots stopped finding their mark.
Rider cut the Princeton lead to 23-20 but a Ed Persia jumper off a fake and single dribble (a shot I wish he would take more), followed by a Robins three and a pull-up fade-away by Gloger made the score 30-20 with 4:26 remaining. Jerry Johnson, Rider's leading scorer, hit a shot in the paint to bring the Broncos within eight, Scott Greenman, coming off the bench, saw his first pass of the night intercepted by Johnson, leading to a breakaway layup. At the half Princeton led 32-28.
Gloger led all scorers at the break with 13 points on 5-8 shooting. Princeton turned the ball over just three times and committed just two team fouls. Similarly, Rider had only two turnovers to go with their two team fouls. Robert Taylor led Rider with 10. Konrad Wysocki played his first three minutes of the season the first half. Princeton was able to go to a "big" lineup for a stretch with Wysocki and Wallace on the court at the same time.
Princeton took charge early in the second half. Will Venable pulled up for three to build the Tigers' lead to seven. Venable skied for an offensive rebound off a Robins miss and put the ball back for a nine point lead. When Gloger made his fourth three pointer and Wallace fed a wide open Wysocki under the basket Princeton was up 45-32 with 14:28 to go. Rider called time out.
Rider scored the next four points out of the time out, but Wysocki found Wallace to build the lead back to eleven. Lauren Young hit a three pointer, but Wysocki added two free throws. Paul Johnson's only two points of the night pulled Rider back within eight. Spencer Gloger scored again and Princeton led 51-41 with 7:58 remaining. The Tigers were being challenged, but they appeared to be answering the bell.
Up ten points with possession, Will Venable lost control of the ball and was called for a double dribble. From that point on, the momentum was on Rider's side. Lauren Young followed his own miss for two. Taylor hit a three pointer. Taylor scored a layup off a nice bounce pass by Jerry Johnson. Time out Princeton, leading 51-48.
Wallace got his own rebound and passed to Persia under the basket to build the lead back to five. After a Rider free throw, Persia returned the favor to Wallace for a short jumper. Princeton led by six. On Rider's next possession Johnson hit a three pointer and was grazed by Venable. Johnson made the free throw and the Broncos had cut the lead down to two. Venable said after the game that "my fingertips touched his fingertips, and if that's a foul, that's a foul."
After Wente missed a three pointer, Wallace fouled Lauren Young. Young made both free throws and the score was tied for the first time since tipoff. Taylor gave Rider their first lead on a three pointer with 2:50 remaining.
Princeton responded. A Wysocki layup and two Wysocki free throws put Princeton back up one with 1:44 left. After a Rider turnover, Princeton got the ball to Spencer Gloger posting up, but Gloger lost control going up for a shot and after the ball landed out of bounds the Broncos had possession. Johnson hit a fade-away jumper in the lane with :41 on the clock to give Rider the lead again, 60-59. Princeton called time out.
Out of the time out, Coach Thompson said after the game that the Tigers were looking to drive the lane and kick outside for a three at the top of the arc if nothing was available. Instead, Princeton was unable to get off a clean look at the basket, as Wente's desperation shot came after the shot clock expired with 0:05.5 remaining. Venable fouled Robert Reed, who made both free throws. Venable's three point attempt at the buzzer would not have counted had it gone, coming just after the horn.
Save for the four point play and the final jumper, Will Venable did an excellent job on Jerry Johnson, Rider's leading scorer, hounding him over and around screens, forcing a 5-16 evening. Princeton shot just 2-13 from three point range and 10-31 from the field in the second half. Gloger, after a hot start, was 2-10 in the second half.
Gloger led Princeton with 18. Venable added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Wallace had 10 points and 9 rebounds. The Tigers controlled the boards to the tune of 39-33. Princeton finished with just six turnovers, the Broncos with only five.
Seeing the game in a less-than-quarter-filled Sovereign Bank Arena gave the night a feel similar to going to a consolation game in another school's tournament. If both teams are going to continue this series (which I hope that they do), it strikes me as important to schedule the game when both schools are in session. Students and bands in the building might have given the atmosphere a bit more life.
