Gamecenter: Princeton 56, Columbia 64

1st 2nd Final
Princeton (9-5, 0-1 Ivy) 23 33 56
Columbia (10-5, 1-0 Ivy) 33 31 64
Levien Gym – New York, NY Boxscore
 
Keys to the Game
Key sequence A flurry of three-pointers keyed a 24-8 run by Princeton to begin the second half, giving the Tigers a 47-44 lead. Niko Scott tied it up with a three-pointer with eight minutes remaining, then Ben Nwachukwu gave back the lead to Columbia. Princeton took advantage of three chances on its next possession and equalized at 49 with a Zach Finley layup. Brett Loscalzo broke the deadlock with a three-pointer at the 5:06 mark, and the score remained 52-49 until Mack Montgomery drilled a three with 2:46 left. Montgomery added two free throws, then Patrick Foley came up with a steal and went 1-for-2 at the line to cap off a 9-0 Lion run that gave Columbia a 58-49 lead with just 2:12 remaining.
Key sign it was over Edwin Buffmire got the Tigers back to within nine with a layup with 54 seconds remaining, but Foley was perfect at the line for the second straight time to restore the margin to nine. Princeton rebounded two of its own misses and eventually got to the line, but Buffmire could only go 1-for-2 at the stripe. The Tigers caught a break when John Baumann missed a pair of free throws, but Luke Owings couldn’t connect on a jumper at the other end, then committed his fifth and final foul. Montgomery knocked down both free throws to make it a double-digit game with just 18 ticks left.
Key performance On a very balanced scoring night for the Lions, Montgomery managed to stand out. The junior tied for the team lead in scoring with 11 points on perfect 3-for-3 shooting — hitting his only three-point attempt — and going 4-for-4 at the line. Montgomery also had a team-best five rebounds, and led the way with three assists in 31 minutes.
Key statistic A Princeton defense that had been so impressive outside the league was torched by the hot-shooting Lions, who hit 22 of 33 (66.7 percent) field goal attempts on the evening. Columbia had a scorching first half, going 14-for-18 (77.8 percent) from the field.
Notes

– Lincoln Gunn and Mike Strittmatter tied for game high-scoring honors with 13 points each, combining to go 6-for-11 from behind the arc.

– Columbia’s offensive attack was remarkably balanced, with Montgomery (11), Foley (11), Nwachukwu (11), and Baumann (10) all in double figures, and Scott not far behind with nine.

– Though some of free throw disparity was the result of late fouling, the Lions shot 20 free throws to just eight for the Tigers, with the hosts owning a 15-6 edge in points at the line.

– Princeton attempted 24 of its 46 shots from beyond the arc, knocking down eight for 33.3-percent three-point shooting. Conversely, Columbia opted to go inside, attempting just eight of 33 from long range and hitting five (62.5 percent). Interestingly, scoring in the paint was even with 26 for each side.

– Kyle Koncz went scoreless on the night, missing all six of his three-point attempts.

– The game was relatively free of turnovers, as Princeton (eight) was slightly better in that department than Columbia (10).

– The Lions will welcome Penn (8-6, 1-0 Ivy) to Levien Gym on Saturday, January 13, at 7:00 pm ET. The battle between Ivy unbeatens will be televised on SNY in the tri-state area and on CN8 in the Mid-Atlantic region. Princeton heads to Ithaca to face Cornell (7-8, 0-1 Ivy) in crucial game for both teams.

Jake Wilson

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Basketball U.

Jake Wilson wrote 754 posts

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