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Princeton University
Monmouth
Miracle Shot Sends Princeton Past Monmouth At Buzzer
December 03, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2002
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Ed Persia's miracle shot lifts Princeton over Monmouth
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WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - It may not have counted for six points, but the former all-state quarterback threw one of the greatest touchdown passes in the history of Princeton basketball. What was mostly an ugly 39:59.3 of a ballgame for the Princeton men's basketball team ended as one of the most amazing victories for this storied program, as junior Ed Persia banked an 80-foot missile at the buzzer to give Princeton a remarkable 60-57 win over Monmouth Tuesday night in front of 2,391 stunned fans at Boylan Gymnasium.
Princeton, which used a 10-point rally to get even with Monmouth midway through the second half, forced a Geoff Owens miss and tied up the rebound to earn the final shot. With .07 seconds remaining on the clock and both coaches likely thinking overtime, Will Venable sent an inbounds pass to Persia, who stood in front of the Monmouth bench.
Then he turned, aimed and fired at a basket 75 feet away.
"It was a turn and heave," said Persia, whose only three-pointer of the game sent the Tigers to 2-2 on the young season. "It brought me back to my high school quarterback days. Right when it left my hand, I knew it had a chance. It seemed like it took an hour to get there."
After banking in, a stunned gymnasium - players, coaches and fans alike - watched one official sprint to the table with both arms in the air, signaling the make and the win. The victory, which will be remembered for the final shot, also came about after key plays in the final minutes by Princeton upperclassmen, especially Kyle Wente. It took a strong comeback - and a little magic - to overcome early misses and misplays by the Tigers.
"We got openings, but we missed," head coach John Thompson said. "We're going to play better; we have to. You come away with a win like that, and you're happy, but we know we have to play better."
Poor shooting and foul trouble plagued Princeton early in the second half. The Tigers scored seven points over the first 10 minutes of the half, and an over-the-back call sent Ray Robins to the bench with four fouls. At the time he went to the bench, Monmouth held a 43-37 lead.
An off-balance shot banked in for Blake Hamilton on the Hawks' ensuing possession, opening up an eight-point lead for Monmouth, the biggest lead for either team. Wente finally ended Monmouth's run by converting on a pair of free throws after being fouled while cutting to the basket. The shots cut the lead to 45-39 with 9:37 remaining and gave Princeton a chance to regroup at the media timeout.
The Tigers got its fair share of opportunities to cut into the lead following the timeout, but they missed shots from both three-point range and under the basket. After stumbling offensively for a three-minute span, Krayl drove the baseline for a layup and Owens scored on another close jumper to open up a double-digit lead.
Following a layup in traffic by Princeton's Ed Persia and a pair of missed open jumpers by Monmouth, Spencer Gloger hit his first three-pointer of the half to cut the deficit to five points. The Tigers were forced to make up the remainder of the deficit with Robins, who was called for his fifth foul seconds later.
Wente continued the rally by draining Princeton's second consecutive long ball of the half. Its trademark tough team defense forced Monmouth into a bad shot, and Wente found Will Venable alone under the basket with just less than four minutes remaining to complete the 10-0 run and force the tie.
Owens reopened the lead for Monmouth by converting on both ends of a one-and-one, but Persia, an 80% free-throw shooter last season, evened the score again by matching Owens' efforts. Krayl continued the free-throw shooting exhibition by hitting the first of a one-and-one, but a miss and a soaring rebound by Wente gave Princeton a shot at its first lead since the opening half. Gloger was fouled on a drive by Tom Kaplan and drained both attempts, giving Princeton a 53-52 lead with 1:52 remaining.
Monmouth executed perfectly out of a timeout, and Krayl buried an open three-pointer, but a driving layup through traffic by Venable again evened the score. The Hawks took a timeout to draw up a play, but an early foul call on Judson Wallace gave Owens two free throws to take the lead. An attempted three-pointer by Hegseth was missed, but a running tip by Wente went in. After a miss by Owens, Gloger and a Monmouth player tied up the rebound. The possession arrow went Princeton's way, setting up Persia's magical shot.
While both teams held leads during the first half, neither could put together enough of a surge to get much distance from its opponent. Princeton made more three-point baskets (seven) than two-point baskets (six), thanks mostly to a 4-for-7 performance from Robins. Freshman Scott Greenman calmly buried the first two shots of his career, both coming on quick three-point shots. Princeton could have found itself ahead at halftime, but three missed layups midway through the half kept Monmouth close. The Hawks rallied late in the half and managed to make it 33-33 at intermission. Monmouth got some major support from its bench, namely Chris Kenny, who scored eight points and hit two three-pointers during the first half.
Princeton will continue its nonleague stretch in December on Saturday when it travels to Lafayette for an 8 p.m. contest. Princeton defeated Lafayette 67-61 last year and leads the all-time series 7-3.