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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Monmouth
Tigers Use Strong Second Half to Pull Past Monmouth, 67-52
January 07, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2004
Box Score
Ed Persia led three Princeton players in double figures with 16 points and Andre Logan added 15 points and a career-high eight rebounds as the Tigers used a strong second half to coast past Monmouth, 67-52, in a men's basketball game played before 3,225 at Jadwin Gym Wednesday night.
After the Hawks (7-4) tied the game at 33 early in the second half, Persia's backdoor layup off a feed from Judson Wallace ignited a 14-2 Princeton run in a four-minute span that put the game away. Andre Logan's layup with 13:39 left in the game gave the Tigers (6-5) a 47-35 lead, and Monmouth never got closer than nine points after that. "I've definitely made a conscious effort to be more aggressive recently, get to the foul line and to the basket," said Persia, who is averaging nearly 14 points per game in Princeton's last six games. "We came out in the second half and ran our offense very well."
Monmouth, which never led in the game and lost to Princeton for the third straight year, stayed in the game thanks mostly to the free-throw shooting of leading scorer Blake Hamilton and the three-point prowess of Chris Kenny, who played 31 minutes off the bench. Hamilton shot just 1 of 9 from the field but finished 15 for 20 from the free-throw line and scored 17 points, while Kenny made four of his six three-point attempts and finished with 14 points. The Hawks shot just 31% from the field, however, including 7 for 26 (27%) in the second half.
"We've done a good job defensively all year, not just tonight," said Princeton head coach John Thompson. "Monmouth is a team that has a lot of great shooters and for the most part we did a good job defending them."
Princeton, which also got 11 points from center Judson Wallace, including nine in the second half, shot 52% from the field for the game (26 for 50) and improved to 6-0 this season when shooting 50% or better. The Tigers also outrebounded Monmouth 38-24, with both Logan and junior Will Venable grabbing eight rebounds.
The Tigers started strong on both ends, taking a 14-4 lead after Logan's three-pointer six minutes into the game, but Monmouth scored 12 of the next 14 points after that to tie the game at 16-16 on two Hamilton free throws midway through the first half. The Tigers would respond to take as much as a six-point lead later in the half before settling for a 31-27 halftime advantage when Persia hit a running one-hander in lane in the final seconds.
Venable added eight points and two steals for the Tigers, who shot 10 for 12 from the free-throw line. Dwayne Byfield had eight points and four assists for the Hawks but was held in check for most of the night by Venable, shooting just 3 for 10 from the field.
Princeton next plays at Minnesota Saturday night (8 p.m., YES Network, ESPN Full Court) before a 16-day break due to final exams.