Gamecenter: Rice 28, Princeton 51

Posted on by Jake Wilson in Gamecenter, Ivy League, Princeton
1st 2nd Final
Rice (6-7) 14 14 28
Princeton (9-4) 27 24 51
Jadwin Gym – Princeton, NJ Boxscore
 
Keys to the Game
Key sequence Lincoln Gunn put Princeton up 32-14 with a three-pointer 1:34 into the second half, capping off an 8-0 Princeton run. Rice then was able to clamp down defensively, holding the Tigers scoreless for 6:23 and forcing turnovers on 10 of the next 11 Princeton possessions. But the Owls weren’t able to capitalize on the Tiger mistakes, as a Morris Almond jumper and a three-point play by Greg Killings were the only points scored during this span. As a result, Rice only made up five points and still trailed 32-19 when Noah Savage ended the Princeton drought with a putback following an offensive rebound. Savage’s bucket started a string of nine unanswered points for the Tigers, giving them a 41-19 advantage with 8:10 remaining.
Key sign it was over Cory Pfleiger hit just the second three-pointer of the day for Rice to make it a 45-28 game at the 3:31 mark. Gunn got one of two free throws, then after a Lawrence Ghoram miss, Luke Owings scored a layup to push the margin back to 20. When Ghoram missed both attempts at the line, the Tigers got the ball back with under two minutes left and the Owls had no shot of a comeback.
Key performance Owings was the only player in double figures for either team with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting, including 3 of 6 from three. The senior added four rebounds, an assist, two blocks, and a steal in 25 minutes.
Key statistic Almond entered the game as the nation’s leading scorer at 31.4 points per game, but he was a non-factor. He attempted only eight shots and finished with just nine points. In a strange twist, Almond’s team failed to reach his individual scoring average.
Notes

– Princeton held Rice to just 14 points in each half.

– The Tigers shockingly dominated the boards, grabbing 11 of 27 rebounds (4.07) at their offensive end, while holding the Owls to just 13.0-percent offensive rebounding. The hosts had a huge 16-2 edge in second-chance points.

– Princeton attempted 12 of its 13 shots from beyond the three-point arc, hitting five threes. The Tigers took 30 threes on the afternoon, hitting 10 (33.3 percent).

– Mostly as a result of the poor stretch before the midway point of the second half, Princeton committed 17 turnovers on the afternoon. Rice fared only slightly worse with 18, yet Princeton owned a 13-7 edge in points off turnovers.

– Rice was completely befuddled by the Tiger matchup zone, shooting just 10 of 30 (33.3 percent) overall, 2 of 9 (22.2 percent) from three, and 6 of 14 (42.9 percent) from the line.

– Up next for Princeton is the New York State road trip to open Ivy play, beginning with a date with Columbia (9-5) on Friday, January 12, at 7:00 pm ET.

Jake Wilson

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Basketball U.

Jake Wilson wrote 754 posts

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