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Princeton University
Rutgers
Rutgers Hangs On To Beat Princeton 70-62
December 29, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Rutgers remained unbeaten at home and kept Princeton winless on the road with a 70-62 win Saturday night in front of 7,596 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
The victory snapped a four-game winning streak by the road team in this series and was only the home team's second win in the last seven games.
Princeton, who hosts Holy Cross next Saturday (Jan. 5), slipped to 3-7 overall and 0-6 away from home. Rutgers improved to 9-3 under first-year coach Gary Waters.
The game was tied 24-24 at halftime, and Princeton's Mike Bechtold started the second half with a three-pointer to give the Tigers their last lead at 27-24. From there, RU went on a 20-2 run to take control, and Princeton would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.
Rutgers did it with interior defense, blocking nine Princeton shots on the night. At one point, Rutgers deflected six straight Princeton two-point attempts, getting five blocked shots and one goaltending call.
Princeton relied on outside shooting, hitting 13 of 33 from three-point range. Bechtold led Princeton with 16 points, while Ray Robins added 12 on 4 of 5 three-point shooting.
Ed Persia had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Tigers.