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Princeton University
Yale
Wallace's Career Night Powers Men's Hoops Past Yale 61-52
February 28, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2003
Box Score
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Sophomore Judson Wallace used a career performance to knock Yale out of the Ivy League race. Now, after scoring a personal-best 23 points to lead the Princeton men's basketball team to a 61-52 win in front of 2,442 fans at Lee Amphitheater, Wallace and his teammates would dearly like Yale to help them get closer in that same race.
Wallace, who has two double-doubles already this season, missed a double-double by one rebound tonight, the fourth time this season that has happened. His play moved Princeton to 8-2 in the Ivy League, two games behind Penn, which topped Brown 69-65 in Providence. The Quakers will play Yale tomorrow night, while Brown and Princeton will battle for sole possession of second place at the same time. A win for Princeton and a loss by Penn would give Princeton control of its own destiny in its hope to clinch a third Ivy League title and, at the least, play Penn in an NCAA tournament play-in game. "The whole goal is to get better for this time," Princeton head coach John Thompson said after the win. "We're doing a better job cutting and moving, and I think our defense is also playing better."
Princeton shot 50% for the game (20 for 40), the third straight game the Tigers have reached that mark and the fourth time in five games. Princeton improved greatly at the free throw line from its last performance at Harvard, making 13 of 15 attempts, including all five attempts in the second half.
Kyle Wente and Ray Robins each scored nine points. Five players had multiple assists, including Ed Persia, who also had seven rebounds. Will Venable had eight points and five steals.
But the story was Wallace, who made 7 of 14 shots, including 4 of 7 from beyond the arc, and grabbed eight of his nine rebounds on the defensive end. He added a pair of assists on backdoor layups, two blocks and a steal.
"This is a sign of things to come," Thompson said of Wallace. "He's getting better. He can make shots. We still have to work, but this is a sign of things to come."
Wallace carried Princeton through the first seven minutes of the game, scoring 13 of the team's first 15 points and grabbing four rebounds. A raucous Yale crowd was treated to an early 6-0 lead, but Wallace quieted things a touch with a jumper from the elbow and a lefthanded hook shot. He then hit a pair of three-pointers from the top of the arc, the latter following his own offensive rebound, to give Princeton a 12-8 lead. He missed his next attempt, but followed with a three-pointer from the right wing to open a seven-point lead.
Princeton would score in threes over the next four minutes, beginning with a layup and free throw by Venable. Konrad Wysocki, a big man who has been a formidable partner with Wallace recently, joined his younger teammate with a three-pointer from the left side. A screen by Robins freed Wente for a three-pointer on the right wing. Mark Lovett was determined not to let Wallace get his fourth trifecta of the half, fouling him with 7:30 remaining. Naturally, Wallace hit three free throws, which punctuated a 23-2 run and a 27-10 lead.
Edwin Draughan finally got Yale back on the scoreboard with a three-pointer of his own, but the momentum was short-lived as Scott Greenman came off a screen and buried a three-pointer from the right wing. Yale started to make its outside shots late in the half, but a final three-pointer from Wallace helped Princeton to a 39-25 advantage in the first half. The Tigers shot 60% in the first half (12 for 20) and 53.8% from beyond the arc (7 for 13).
Yale cut the deficit to 10 points by the 14-minute mark, and got it within single digits on a cutting layup by Ime Archibong. Following an offensive foul by Wallace, the Yale crowd was ready to explode, but a Draughan missed jumper and a layup by Robins brought the lead back to 10 points. Following a Yale turnover, Wallace found Persia on a backdoor layup, Princeton's first of the game to open a 12-point lead. Princeton never let Yale get any closer than nine points the rest of the night.
Princeton will travel to Providence, R.I., Saturday night to face Brown University at 7 p.m. (WBUD 1260 A.M., GoPrincetonTigers.com). The Tigers had a 52-year home winning streak over Brown snapped two weeks ago when the Bears earned an 80-73 victory at Jadwin Gym.
Remaining League Games:
Penn (10-0): at Yale, Columbia, Cornell, at Princeton University
Princeton (8-2): at Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Penn
Brown (9-2): Princeton, at Dartmouth, at Harvard