.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Holy Cross
Wallace, Owings Lead Tigers to 61-55 Win over Holy Cross
November 28, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2003
Final Stats
As far as the Princeton men's basketball team is concerned, this Judson Wallace career high thing can keep going for as long as he'd like. Especially if Wallace's scoring binges lead to Princeton wins.
Just one week after beginning the season with a then-career-high 28-point performance in a win over Colgate, Princeton's junior center scored a career-high 31 points and hit three huge three-point shots in a 14-3 run that decided the game as the Tigers held off Holy Cross, 61-55, in front of 4,430 at Jadwin Gym Friday night.
After Holy Cross's Jave Meade hit a three-pointer with 8:39 left in the game to tie the game at 42, Wallace hit a three-pointer from the corner to give the Tigers (2-0) a lead they would never relinquish. Holy Cross's Keith Simmons then cut the Princeton lead to 45-44 on the Crusaders' next possession, but Wallace made another three-pointer from a similar spot nine seconds later to put the Tigers ahead by four. Wallace then hit a three-pointer from the right wing with just under six minutes left to put Princeton ahead 53-44. "I feel like I'm capable of making those shots as well as just about any center in the league," said Wallace, who shot 11 for 13 from the field and also added a game-high nine rebounds. "Everybody did a good job of finding me with great passes, and I had wide-open looks that I was able to knock down."
Wallace, now shooting 21 for 28 (75%) in the first two games of the season and averaging 29.5 points through two games, made his first eight shots from the field as the Tigers came from behind to take a 31-26 lead at halftime and lead by as many as 12 points, 39-27, with just under 16 minutes remaining. But the Crusaders (2-1) scored the next eight points to get back into the game and tied it on Meade's three-pointer with 8:39 left.
Keith Simmons came off the bench to lead Holy Cross with 20 points, while Meade had 11 points and four assists. The Crusaders outrebounded Princeton 32-23, including 15-7 on the offensive glass, but committed 18 turnovers.
After a slow start by both teams, the Crusaders took as much as a seven-point lead in the first half, 25-18, on a Kevin Hamilton jumper with 5:07 remaining in the first half. But the Tigers scored 13 of the final 14 points of the half, including a spectacular steal, layup and three-point play by Wallace as time expired that gave Princeton a five-point halftime lead.
Princeton also got solid contributions from freshman Luke Owings, who made three of his four three-point shots and finished with 11 points in 26 minutes off the bench. Will Venable tied a career with seven assists for the Tigers, who had assists on 17 of their 22 baskets.
The Tigers, who play at UMBC on Tuesday (7 p.m., WPRB-FM 103.3, GoPrincetonTigers.com), are 2-0 for the first time since the 1997-98 season. Wallace's 31 points were the most by a Princeton player since Spencer Gloger scored 34 against UAB in December 1999 and marked the first 30-point game for a Tiger player since Chris Young had 30 at Harvard in February 2000.