Princeton gets off schneid, picks up much-needed win over Harvard

By Andrew Hefner (@Ahef_NJ)

PRINCETON, N.J. — Following a disappointing and upsetting weekend, Princeton entered its second contest against Harvard this season on a two-game losing streak, facing improbable odds to make it back to where the Tigers stood just two seasons ago.

However, Friday’s 76-71 win over the Crimson will certainly help aid their quest for a March return. 

“Great to get a win,” remarked head coach Mitch Henderson. “Harvard plays really hard and these weekends come quickly, even though that seems like you're waiting for a little while, but it comes fast and (you’re) happy to get a win.”

Harvard did play hard out of the gate, quickly grabbing a lead early in the first half thanks to an excellent starting effort from Louis Lesmond and Robert Hinton, the latter of whom would go on to have a career-high 31 points by the end of the matchup. Princeton, though, struggled early on as Xaivian Lee and Blake Peters would miss threes to open the game. By the time five minutes had passed, the Tigers were already shooting 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. 

“I felt like we were getting pretty good looks,” Lee explained. “I think they kind of sped us up a little bit at the start. 
We had a lot of turnovers just to start the game, like five or six, but I thought when we were getting into our offense and then calming down a little bit, we got good shots every time, so I think just finding our tempo was important.”

Lee’s thoughts proved to be accurate, as after a three-minute scoring drought for the Tigers, the junior point guard exploded for nine straight points in just over four minutes to once again tie the game. Lee, Princeton’s leading scorer and NBA Draft prospect, recorded his first 20-plus point game in his last eight contests, impressing a handful of NBA scouts in attendance at Jadwin Gymnasium. 

“I mean, honestly, I was just trying to come out and be aggressive from the start,” Lee said. “I trust I'll make the right read when I get there, so I want to try and not play two-passes, especially at the start of the game, and get everyone involved.”

“Really, (I wanted to) kind of look for my spots too as well, so that's kind of my own mentality coming into the game. Obviously, I knew we were gonna play hard today because we had to, and honestly, that will be the case for every game down the stretch,” 

Unfortunately for the Tigers, consistent starter Malik Abdullahi would hit the ground hard early in the game and would quickly sub out, clutching his hamstring. He did not return to the game, and Henderson informed the media that he would be checking with the trainer following the media session. Philip Byriel, who started a majority of the games in the first part of the season for Princeton, but had seen extremely limited minutes in the past few matchups, stepped up in Abdullahi’s stead. 

“I thought Phil did a really good job of getting himself ready and then he played well,” Henderson said. “On
 both ends, he made some really big shots and really helped us.”

Next, it would be CJ Happy’s turn to step into the spotlight for the Tigers. Happy, who was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time just a few weeks ago, started again against Harvard, but it took him most of the first half to make his first mark. 

“I mean, he had two post-ups back to back, then hit an open three and then kind of hit that prayer at the end, so, I mean, that's obviously huge for us,” Lee said of Happy’s performance. “It kind of tilted the momentum in our favor, I thought, so it’s really cool when freshmen come and do that, because obviously it's tough.”

Happy would score all of his nine points within four minutes in the first half, but would set the Tigers up to take a 14-point lead heading into the locker room. Princeton held a commanding lead entering the second half, but the game was not quite over yet as Hinton started the second stanza off strong with nine points in the first five minutes to keep Harvard in the game. 

“He's a good player. He's a tough player,” said Princeton senior Blake Peters when asked about guarding Hinton. “He'll definitely be a force in this league for the next couple of years.”

Princeton finished the game strong in the first of this weekend’s back-to-back bill, and will be back at home Saturday to host Dartmouth, against whom the Tigers narrowly escaped with a win earlier this season. 

“It's a good team, well-coached and they're hungry to get to the Ivy tournament, but we're just as hungry,” Peters said of Dartmouth. “This was a good step in the right direction for us, and we're at home so that always helps. We’ll have a good crowd, but it'll be a tough task.”