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Princeton University
Harvard
Bechtold, Martin Help Princeton Rally Past Harvard, Set Up Showdowns
February 16, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2002
Final Stats
Penn and Yale took care of their ends of the bargain easily. Thanks to Mike Bechtold and Dominick Martin, Princeton held up its end as well.
Bechtold scored 18 of his 21 points after halftime and Martin added 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead Princeton to a 70-59 win over Harvard in front of 6,123 at Jadwin Gym.
While Penn defeated Dartmouth by 39 and Yale defeated Columbia by 20, Princeton had trailed by as many as 10 in the first half and by one with 11:43 to go before rallying for the win.
The wins by the three teams set up next weekend's major showdowns, as Yale visits Princeton Friday night and Pennsylvania Saturday night. Yale is 9-1 in the league, while Princeton is 7-2 and Penn is 6-3. Princeton came into the game undefeated at 10-0 when it shot at least 46% from the field but just 1-9 when it shot below 46%. The Tigers shot 42.9% in the first half, which ended with Harvard ahead 30-23.
The Tigers then shot 54.5% from the field after intermission, shooting 6 for 11 from both three-point range and inside the arc, to finish at 48.8%.
No Tiger was hotter in the second half than Bechtold. Princeton trailed 36-31 before Bechtold hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Tigers a 37-36 lead. The teams then traded baskets to a 41-40 Princeton lead before Bechtold hit another three-pointer to make it 44-40. Another Bechtold three with 3:42 left made it 57-48 and basically sealed it.
Martin, meanwhile, had his best game, coming within one of his career high in points and having the high-rebounding game by a Princeton player for the season. Martin had eight points and seven rebounds in the second half.
Bechtold finished 5 for 8 from three-point range, which moved him past Matt Lapin into eighth place all-time at Princeton in three's with 102.
For the weekend, Princeton shot 27 for 50 from three-point range. The two games at Jadwin Gym featured a combined total of 46 three-pointers by the teams.
Patrick Harvey led Harvard with 23 points, 17 of which came in the first half. Harvey was 5 for 6 from three-point range in the first half and 0 for 5 in the second.
Yale swept Princeton and Penn in New Haven last weekend.