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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Hoops Cross-es Into 2003 With Battle Against Crusaders
January 02, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2003
WORCESTER, Mass. - Princeton is the two-time defending Ivy League champion, and Holy Cross is the two-time defending Patriot League champion. Before each school looks to add a third championship, they will meet Friday night to open the 2003 portion of their schedules (7 p.m., WCTC 1450 AM, GoPrincetonTigers.com). Princeton has won this game each of the last two seasons by a total of three points.
The Facts
PRINCETON at HOLY CROSS
The site Hart Center * Worcester, Mass.
The date Friday, Jan. 3, 2003 *7 p.m.
TV/Radio WCTC 1450 AM; www.GoPrincetonTigers.com
The records Princeton: 4-6 (one loss in a row); Holy Cross: 7-3 (one win in a row)
The coaches Princeton: John Thompson (third season, 36-28); Holy Cross: Ralph Willard (fourth season, 57-44)
The series Princeton leads 5-1 (Princeton three in a row)
Last year Princeton won 52-50
Princeton-Holy Cross Game Notes in PDF Format
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Game Notes
Championship Feeling - Both Princeton and Holy Cross won their respective conferences in each of the last two seasons. Princeton won the Ivy League twice, but only went to the NCAA tournament two seasons ago before falling in a league playoff against Yale last season.
Sweet 16 - Both Princeton and Holy Cross nearly pulled off major upsets against top seeds in the NCAA tournament. Princeton was the 16th seed in 1989 and fell 50-49 to No. 1 Georgetown following a pair of Alonzo Mourning blocked shots. Holy Cross nearly topped No. 1 Kansas last season, leading by five with 13 minutes remaining before a late Jayhawk run put the Crusaders away 70-59. A Perfect 10 - Ed Persia scored all of his 10 points in the final 10 minutes of last season's 52-50 win over Holy Cross in Jadwin Gym. The Lancers cut the deficit to two points five times, but Persia was a perfect 4 for 4 from the foul line in the final 16 seconds to keep the Crusaders from getting a chance to tie the score.
Close Call - The last two Holy Cross-Princeton games have been decided by a total of three points. In the 2000-01 season, the Tigers won 47-46 at the Hart Center. Overall Princeton leads the series 5-1 and has won all three meetings over the last three seasons; the 1999-00 game was the first in the series since 1977.
Four Score - Junior Ed Persia scored a career-high 20 points in Princeton's last game, a 77-71 loss to Santa Clara in the Cable Car Classic championship game. He brought Princeton back in the first half with three-pointers on four consecutive Princeton possessions and ended up scoring 14 straight points for the Tigers.
I'm Honored - Junior Spencer Gloger was named to the all-tournament team at the Cable Car Classic after scoring 19 points in each game.
Ray Of Hope - Senior Ray Robins nearly led Princeton to an improbable comeback victory against Santa Clara, scoring eight points in the final two minutes, including a pair of three-pointers in the final 61 seconds, to get it to a one-possession game. Robins is the only player on the team to make at least 10 three-pointers and shoot over 40% from beyond the arc (15 for 37; .405).
The Venerable Venable - Sophomore Will Venable led Princeton to a 76-62 over Big 12 member Texas A&M in the first semifinal of the Cable Car Classic. He had 21 points, two below his career high, and nine free throws to lead the Tigers past the Aggies. Texas A&M came into that game with a 6-2 record, including a win over LSU, the only team to defeat former No. 1 Arizona.
Special K - Konrad Wysocki recorded Princeton's third double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Texas A&M. After missing the first six games of the season with a sprained ankle, the former Ivy League Rookie of the Year has averaged 5.2 points and 4.0 rebounds off the bench.
Texas Two-Step - Princeton nearly earned its biggest upset in years on Dec. 22 when it fell 57-54 at No. 10 Texas in an ESPN contest. Princeton led by three points at halftime and by two points with five minutes remaining.
Fit To Be Tied - Princeton and Texas were tied 11 times and had nine lead changes.
Oh Captain, My Captain - After making nine field goals in his first seven games, Princeton senior captain Kyle Wente made a total of 11 field goals in games against Texas and Texas A&M.
Junior Mint - Junior Spencer Gloger leads Princeton with 17.8 points per game. The last Princeton player to end a season with a better scoring average was Brian Taylor (25.0 ppg, 1971-72).
A League Of His Own - Spencer Gloger's scoring total is also tops in the Ivy League. No Princeton player has led the Ivy League in scoring since Brian Taylor did it in the 1971-72 season.
Streaking - Spencer Gloger has scored in double figures in 18 straight games, dating back to the 20th century.
Making His Point - Spencer Gloger scored a team-high 26 points against Rutgers. No Princeton player had scored more since Ray Robins scored 28 in a 60-38 win over Cornell last season.
Leading The Way - Spencer Gloger leads Princeton in points (17.8 per game), field goals (60), three-pointers (27) and free throws (31). He is also second on the team in rebounds, blocks and minutes played.
Board Games - Sophomore Judson Wallace has started every game at center for Princeton this season and leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game. Wallace is also averaging 8.0 points per game and is the active team leader in three-point percentage (9 for 21; .429).
Playing The Percentages - Princeton has not won a game this season when it hasn't shot at least 40% from the field (4-3) and hasn't shot at least 35% from beyond the arc (4-2).
Three For One - Five of Princeton's games this season have been decided by three points. Last season, a total of five games were decided by three points or less.
The Shot - Junior Ed Persia had the highlight of the season so far for Princeton. He grabbed both an unbelievable victory and national attention by defeating Monmouth on Dec. 3 with an 85-foot bank shot at the buzzer. The play began with .7 of a second remaining on the clock and the score tied at 57-57.
Seventh Heaven - Princeton set a program record by reaching its seventh consecutive postseason (four NCAA tournaments, three NITs). It is one of 19 teams to reach at least seven consecutive postseasons.
Three For All - Princeton has made at least one three-pointer in every game since the rule was enacted in the 1986-87 season (452 games).
On The One Hand ... - Princeton has the longest current streak in Division I of consecutive games without allowing at least 100 points (924 games, dating to 1968 vs. North Carolina).
... On The Other Hand - Princeton has not hit the 100-point mark in 860 games, dating to a 108-64 win over Yale in 1971.
What's The Scoop? - Princeton's upcoming recruiting class was ranked in the Top 50 recently by the publication Hoop Scoop. Princeton has already had four recruits receive early admittance, including a pair of California kids, Harrison Schaen (6-9, Mater Dei HS) and Brian Elbogen (6-8, California HS). The other two players coming to Princeton next season are Max Schafer (6-1, Depaul HS, N.J.) and Luke Owings (6-5, Gonzaga HS, D.C.)
The Crystal Ball - Princeton will play its third home game of the season on Tuesday when it hosts Maryland-Baltimore County at 7:30 p.m. The Tigers, 0-2 at Jadwin Gym this season, won the only meeting against UMBC with a 67-55 victory on Dec. 12, 1993. Following that game, Princeton will take a break for finals and will return to the court Jan. 27 against Ursinus.