28 November, 2006
by Ryan Rissmiller
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Princeton (4-1) |
19 |
25 |
44 |
| Lafayette (1-6) |
22 |
20 |
42 |
| Kirby Sports Center – Easton, PA |
Boxscore |
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Lafayette did all they could to stay in step with the Princeton Tigers on Tuesday night, an unlike most of their other games, they actually did, before falling just short. The Tigers escaped Kirby Sports center with a 44-42 win. Overcoming a poor shooting performance of the first half, in which they shot 33.3 percent from the field, the Tigers were more selective in the second half shooting 58.3 percent. Kyle Koncz and Luke Owings led the Tigers in scoring with 12 points each. Matt Betley as usual led the Leopards with 11 points and 7 rebounds.
Lafayette went into the locker room at half with a 22-19 lead, but came out flat in the second half. Princeton rattled off a 10-0 run which included three-pointers from Koncz and a Owings and a pair of uncontested inside shots from Justin Conway. Lafayette’s first field goal in the second half came at the 14:55 mark, when Marcus Harley drained a three-pointer. Another basket from Paul Cummins and the Leopards were back in the game, only down 31-28.
The Tigers extended their lead by three-pointers from Lincoln Gunn and Owings to take a 39-30 lead with 9 minutes to play. This would prove to be the last field goals from the Tigers for the rest of the game. A 5-of-10 performance from the free throw line did not give Princeton the separation to keep Lafayette at bay. The Leopards failed to take full advantage of the Princeton slump, only going 3-of-8 from the field during that stretch, but managed to pull the game close with a solid 4-of-4 performance from the free throw line.
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
With 55 seconds left, a Betley drive produced a basket and a foul, which proved to be a pivotal three-point play, as he drew the Leopards within two points. A missed three-pointer by Lincoln Gunn followed by a Marcus Harley rebound put the ball in Lafayette’s hands with 26 seconds to play, as coach O’Hanlon took a timeout to draw up a play for the final possession and possible winning shot. The inbound came to point guard Andrew Brown as he would eventually drive the ball to the basket for a semi-contested lay-up, which was just off the mark, ending the game.
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| Key sign it was over |
The ending buzzer. This came down to the very end, so much in fact that their needed to be a discussion by the officials to indeed end it. After Brown’s last second missed lay-up attempt, the ball was tapped out to Princeton’s Mike Schroeder as he became entangled with Betley. The side official blew his whistle just as the final horn was sounding in an apparent jump ball or foul call situation. After a brief discussion, the game was announced to be over. Ironically, the possession arrow belonged to Lafayette.
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| Key performance |
Koncz’s first half performance. Nine of his 12 points came in the first-half. He shot 3-of-6 from the three-point line, not even attempting a shot from within the arc. Lafayette defense had to account for his presence on the court and be aware where he was at on the floor at all times.
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| Key statistic |
Princeton’s second-half free throw shooting (53.8 percent) allowed them just enough space to squeeze out the victory. With a reluctance to take the ball inside in the first half, the Tigers only had one appearance at the line, which was missed. In the second half they made it to the stripe in the double digits going 7-of-13.
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| Notes |
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When asked about Lafayette’s defense, Princeton head coach Joe Scott praised the Leopards, claiming that this was like a league game.
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Princeton is now 4-1 and has yet to play a home game. And the end isn’t in sight as they head out west for two more games in the Pepsi Blue and Gold Classic before returning home to play Lehigh on Dec. 6 – their eighth game of the season.
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Lafayette actually showed some semblance of an inside game tonight, multiple times taking it down low to Everest Schmidt and Matt Betley. The Leopards converted 8-of-11 shots from less than five feet. The trouble came when the Princeton defense would collapse and force an outside shot for the Leopards – their usual strong suit – which they could not convert, shooting 4-of-18 from the arc.
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Lafayette won the battle of the boards 26-20.
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Lafayette travels to St. Peter’s this Saturday.
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