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Princeton University Athletics
Tigers Fall To Penn, 55-46
February 15, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2000
Box Score
By TOM CANAVAN
AP Sports Writer
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) - Penn took a major step toward its second straight Ivy League title and NCAA tournament berth by holding Princeton to 29 percent shooting from the field en route to a 55-46 victory on Tuesday night.
The win was the ninth straight and it gave the Quakers (14-7, 7-0) a two-game lead over Princeton (13-9, 5-2) with only one head-to-head matchup against the Tigers with seven games to go in the relatively weak conference.
Michael Jordan had 14 points and Ugonna Onyekwe added 12 and four blocks for Penn, which used a 14-0 first-half spurt to take the lead for good and a 15-7 run in the final 5:43 to put the game away.
Mason Rocca scored all 16 of his points in the second half to give Princeton a chance. Chris Young, who scored a career-high 30 points on Saturday, had 11 before fouling out in the final minute, but only four came in the second half. The Tigers hit 15 of 52 shots from the field, including 4 of 17 from 3-point range. Down 25-18 at halftime, Princeton got its offense going early in the second half and closed within 38-36 on two consecutive shots in the paint by Rocca. He had a chance to tie the game after a turnover by Penn center Geoff Owens, but his scoop in the lane fell off the rim.
Onyekwe hit a jumper with 6:20 to go to extend the lead to 40-36, but Rocca got the Tigers within two a final time with two free throws with 5:55 to play.
Penn then put the game away with seven straight points, the last five on a layup and 3-pointer by Frank Brown, the bomb seemingly exploding Princeton's hopes for an Ivy League title with 4:38 to go.
Princeton, one of the nation's annual leaders in scoring defense, saw the game turn when Penn held the Tigers scoreless for a 9:21 span in the first half. Princeton missed seven shots in that period and turned the ball over five times.
Penn ran off 14 straight points during the Tigers' drought to turn a 12-6 deficit into a 20-12 lead with 4:43 left in the half. Jordan, who started the spurt with a pass that set up a dunk by Oggie Kapetanovic, scored five straight points in the run.