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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Kansas
No. 4 Kansas Holds Off Princeton
December 12, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2001
Box Score
Princeton played well enough to beat most teams. Kansas is not "most teams."
The fourth-ranked Jayhawks withstood several Princeton rallies en route to a 78-62 win over the Tigers in front of 6,861 at Jadwin Gym.
KU improved to 7-1 on the year, while Princeton slipped to 2-6. Princeton, who is off until a Dec. 21 home game against Lafayette, has played three Top 10 teams in eight games this season.
"We've played a lot of top teams over the last two seasons," Princeton coach John Thompson said. "That team we played tonight might be the best."
Kansas led 31-12 before Princeton closed the first half on a furious 17-4 run. Ed Persia hit a big three-pointer at the first half buzzer, and it was 35-29 at intermission. "They played with a lot of energy there," said Kansas coach Roy Williams. "They did a nice job. We made a mistake on the last possession, and their guy hit a big shot that really got the crowd into it. This halftime was the maddest I've been this year, maybe ever. My blood pressure was pretty high there."
His team recovered to build a lead of as many as 23. The Jayhawks, the top field goal percentage team in Division I at nearly 54% as a team coming into the game, shot 31 for 59. Nick Collison scored 10 points on 8 for 9 shooting, while Drew Gooden added 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Will Venable sparked several Princeton runs and led the Tigers with 11 points, three rebounds and three steals in 23 minutes.
Persia had his best game of the season. The sophomore guard, who entered the game shooting 2 for 13 from three-point range on the year, scored nine points on 3 for 6 three-point shooting. He added five assists with no turnovers and three steals.
Judson Wallace had 10 points in 11 minutes, while Mike Bechtold and Andre Logan had 10 points each.
Princeton shot 24 for 53, 8 for 26 from three-point range. Princeton was outrebounded 34-24.