Gamecenter: Princeton 57, Brown 64

1st 2nd Final
Princeton (5-20, 2-8 Ivy) 27 30 57
Brown (16-9, 8-3) 30 34 64
Pizzitola Center – Providence, RI Boxscore
 
Keys to the Game
Key sequence Nick Lake’s three-pointer with 11:57 remaining gave Princeton a 43-38 lead, but Brown would dramatically change the complexion of the game with a big run. Damon Huffman answered Lake’s three with one of his own on the subsequent possession, then following Noah Savage’s miss from close range, Chris Skrelja evened the score at 43 with a layup. Lincoln Gunn’s three-point attempt was off the mark, but Mark McAndrew had no such problems at the other end, putting the Bears in front to stay with a triple. Gunn couldn’t get a bucket to drop for the Tigers, and Peter Sullivan drained a pair of free throws for a 48-43 Brown lead. Gunn lost the ball before stealing it back, but Lake gave it back to the Bears. Skrelja then put back McAndrew’s miss for a seven-point edge, and after Kyle Koncz missed a layup, the Princeton senior fouled McAndrew, who was perfect at the line to cap off a run of 14 unanswered points that put Brown in front 52-43 with 7:12 to play.
Key sign it was over Three-pointers from Koncz and Savage cut Brown’s lead to 57-51 with under two minutes to play, but Koncz couldn’t make it a one-possession game as his three-point attempt with 1:14 remaining was off the mark. McAndrew grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and hit two free throws to make it 59-51 with 69 ticks on the clock. When Gunn missed inside, it was Skrelja’s turn to hit two free throws, as the Bears restored a double-digit lead with a minute to play. Princeton would pull a point back on a Savage free throw with 38 seconds remaining and caught a break when Skrelja missed both attempts from the line, but it took the Tigers 15 seconds to get off a shot, and Lake’s three-point attempt wouldn’t go, with Brown adding two McAndrew free throws with 14 seconds to play for a nine-point advantage.
Key performance McAndrew was a key part of Brown’s decisive run, finishing with 14 points, largely on the strength of 9-for-11 free throw shooting. The senior also recorded four points, three assists, and four steals in 31 minutes.
Key statistic Brown didn’t shoot particularly well at the line, but the Bears did have a big numerical edge there, attempting 29 free throws to Princeton’s 12, and outscoring the Tigers 19-9 from the stripe.
 
Notes

– Savage and Lake tied for the team lead for Princeton with 16 points apiece, while Gunn struggled through a very rough night, ending up scoreless after missing all 10 attempts from the field.

– Huffman led Brown with 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting, Matt Mullery tallied 14 points before leaving with a serious-looking knee injury in the second half, and Skrelja had his customary solid all-around game with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

– Neither team shot the three very well, with the Tigers missing their first eight attempts from long range before finishing 6 of 21 (28.6 percent), and the Bears not much better at 5 of 15 (33.3 percent).

– Princeton was very uncharacteristically hurt in transition, with Brown owning a big 12-2 edge in fastbreak points.

– Koncz showed toughness yet again by playing with a hip pointer, though it appeared to affect his shooting, as the senior finishing just 1 of 7 from the field.

– Princeton will travel down to New Haven to face Yale on Saturday, March 1 at 8:00 pm ET, and Brown will take on Penn at 6:00 pm ET.

Jake Wilson

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Basketball U.

Jake Wilson wrote 754 posts

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