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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Basketball Travels to Holy Cross to Conclude Season-Opening Road Stretch
November 30, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 30, 2004
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Princeton senior center Judson Wallace, and the Tigers, certainly have fond memories of last season's victory over Holy Cross at Jadwin Gym.
Wallace had a career-high 31 points that night, missing just two of his 13 shots from the field, and hit three three-point shots in a second-half stretch that helped turn a tie game into a nine-point Tiger lead.
The end result was a 61-55 Tiger win, a bit of an aberration in a series that has featured extremely tight games in the last five years. Holy Cross won by one point in Worcester two years ago, 55-54, on a last-second free throw, and Princeton won by two at Jadwin Gym in 2001 and by one at the Hart Center in 2000 on two free throws in the final 15 seconds.
Both the Tigers (2-2) and the Crusaders (3-0) have won games thanks to defense in the early season. Princeton's opponents are shooting just 35% through four games; Holy Cross opponents are shooting at just 37% through three games. Both teams are allowing just 51 points per game.
Princeton, which gutted out a 40-38 win at Lafayette Saturday, ends a season-opening five-game stretch away from home with Wednesday's game. The Tigers finally play at home Dec. 8, when Rutgers visits Jadwin Gym.
Holy Cross defeated Marist Sunday night, 79-52, to improve to 3-0. Kevin Hyland, starting for injured center Nate Lufkin, shot a perfect 5 for 5 from the field and had a team-high 13 points for the Crusaders.
NOTE OF THE DAY
On the Defensive Princeton's opponents have scored just 128 points (32 per game) from the field through four games this season. Tiger opponents have more free throws (68) than field goals (61).
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
More Defensiveness Princeton's opponents are shooting just 35.5% from the field this year. Last year's national leader in that category, Connecticut, allowed opponents to shoot 36.9% for the year.
Even More Defensiveness Princeton allowed just 38 points to Lafayette, the fewest it has allowed in a non-conference game against a Division I team since a 37-35 win over Monmouth in Nov. 1999.
Hart-Pounding Princeton's last two trips to the Hart Center have resulted in a one-point loss (55-54) two seasons ago and a one-point win (47-46) four seasons ago.
Patriot Games The Tigers have already defeated the teams picked first (Bucknell) and sixth (Lafayette) in the Patriot League preseason poll. Holy Cross was picked fourth in that poll.
Balancing Act Three different players have led Princeton in scoring through four games. Luke Owings had 21 vs. Bucknell, Will Venable had 17 vs. Syracuse and Wyoming and Noah Savage had 13 vs. Lafayette.
I'm Honored Noah Savage was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week for games ending Nov. 28. Savage shot 6-for-8 from three-point range and 9-for-10 from the line in two games last week.
Just Three Away Princeton now needs just three victories to become the just the 14th men's basketball program in NCAA Division I with 1,500 wins.
Road Warriors Princeton concludes a season-opening five-game stretch away from home with today's game. The Tigers play their first home game a week from Wednesday against Rutgers.
TEAM NOTES & ANECDOTES
Injury Report... Andre Logan had surgery on his left knee on Nov. 5 for the third time since 2002 and will not return until late December. Logan started 21 games a year ago and averaged 8.2 points per game.
Injury Report 2 Luke Owings injured his foot in practice last week and was a gametime decision at Lafayette, but started that game and played 31 minutes.
Injury Report 3 Mike Stephens injured his left shoulder in practice two weeks ago but has played in Princeton's last two games wearing a brace on the shoulder.
Four Outta Five Ain't Bad Princeton has won four of five games against Holy Cross since the series resumed in 1999.
Gonna Be Tight? Princeton's last three wins against Holy Cross have come by a combined total of nine points. Holy Cross's win over Princeton two seasons ago came by one point.
Point, Counterpoint Princeton's 61 points against the Crusaders last year were the most by either team in the game since the series resumed in 1999.
Familiar Face Tony Newsom, now a Princeton assistant coach, worked as an assistant coach at Holy Cross the past three years.
Tourney Tested Either Princeton, Holy Cross or both has reached the NCAA tournament in seven of the last nine seasons.
The Iron Nine Princeton has played nine players this season, and eight of them are averaging at least 13 minutes per game.
Coach Speak Joe Scott returned to Princeton in April after four years as head coach at Air Force. Scott was the Mountain West Conference "Coach of the Year" last season after leading the Falcons to their first NCAA tournament in 42 years.
We're Honored Princeton has two returning first-team All-Ivy players (Judson Wallace, Will Venable) for the first time since the 1996-97 season, when Steve Goodrich and Sydney Johnson returned.
Election Year Princeton was among 46 teams receiving at least one vote in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll that was released in late October.
Exit Polls The Tigers were chosen to win the Ivy League for the second straight year in a preseason media poll. Princeton was chosen first on 14 of 16 ballots in the poll.
Senior Moments Princeton has five seniors this season (Berger, Logan, Stephens, Venable, Wallace), its largest senior class since the 1997-98 season, when the Tigers finished 27-2.
Arc de Triomphe Princeton, along with Vanderbilt and UNLV, are the only teams to have made at least one three-point shot in every game since the rule came into effect for the 1986-87 season. The Tigers' streak currently stands at 498 games.
By the Numbers Princeton finished third nationally in scoring defense and 14th nationally in team field-goal percentage last season.
Conference Call Princeton finished its 2003-04 conference season with at least a .500 record for the 51st straight year, a current streak more than twice as long as any other team in NCAA Division I.
The Sweet 15 Princeton has won at least 15 games in each of the last 18 seasons and has not finished below .500 in a season since 1984-85.
TV Stars Princeton will appear on ESPN2 against Temple Dec. 20 and ESPN at Duke Jan. 5. The Tigers also have two nationally-televised games on CSTV--against Rutgers Dec. 8 and Penn March 8.
On Schedule Princeton has played a team that eventually reached the Final Four in each of the last four seasons (Duke in 2001, Maryland in 2002, Texas in 2003 and Duke in 2004).
PLAYER NOTES & ANECDOTES
Minute Man Will Venable has played all but 18 of 170 minutes this season for Princeton. He missed 13 of those 18 minutes either due to foul trouble or fouling out.
Lights Out In his last 19 games dating back to last year, Will Venable is shooting 89-for-146 (61%) from the field.
National Pastime Will Venable also helped the Princeton baseball team to the NCAA tournament in 2004, hitting .344 in 96 at-bats after the conclusion of basketball season.
Good Memories Judson Wallace scored a career-high 31 points against Holy Cross last season. Wallace shot 11 for 13 from the field and added nine rebounds in that game.
Back on Track After scoring just four points against Bucknell Nov. 11, Judson Wallace is averaging 11.3 points in Princeton's last three games.
Milestone Year? Judson Wallace needs 213 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career.
21-Point Salute Luke Owings scored 21 points in his first career start, Princeton's 61-48 season-opening win against Bucknell Nov. 11.
Smart Guy Luke Owings was the valedictorian of his high school class at Washington, D.C.'s, Gonzaga College Prep, the same high school attended by former Princeton coach John Thompson.
Board Work Scott Greenman, the smallest player on the court at 5-9, had a game-high seven rebounds for Princeton in its win over Lafayette Saturday.
Taking Care of It Scott Greenman has just 29 turnovers in 32 games the last two seasons. Greenman has a team-high 10 assists and just three turnovers in four games this year.
From Way Downtown Scott Greenman led the Tigers with 42 three-point shots last season. Greenman has at least two three-pointers in 16 of Princeton's last 32 games over the last two years.
Notes on Noah Noah Savage has shot 6 for 12 from the field and scored 25 points in his last two games after shooting 0 for 3 from the field and scoring two points in his first two games.
Home Games Noah Savage is a Princeton resident who played basketball at The Hun School, just a mile or so down U.S. Route 206 from the Princeton campus.
Battling Through Mike Stephens injured his left shoulder in practice two weeks ago but still played 14 minutes at Wyoming, scoring five points, and 12 minutes at Lafayette.
Steppin' Out 6-10 center Mike Stephens has made eight of his 18 three-point attempts over the last two years, including four of seven attempts this season.
Time Chart Guard Max Schafer has played more minutes than any Princeton reserve this season, averaging 21 minutes per game through four games.
Was Back on Court Andre Logan played in 26 of 28 games last year after missing 40 of the previous 43 Princeton games due to knee injuries
Logan's Run Andre Logan is in his fifth year of eligibility. He was awarded a fifth year after missing all but three games in 2002-03 due to injury.
On the Board Freshman guard Matt Sargeant had his first career points at Wyoming, converting a three-point play in the first half. He led Princeton reserves with 16 minutes played at Lafayette.