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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Monmouth
Tigers Use Record-Setting Free-Throw Performance to Hold Off Monmouth, 56-52
December 12, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2004
Box Score
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - When you finish 18-for-18 from the free-throw line, there's no need for any miracle endings.
Two years ago, Princeton won at Monmouth when Ed Persia's 80-foot desperation shot went in at the buzzer. Sunday at Boylan Gym, Princeton's record-setting performance from the line, not to mention an individual record-setting performance from center Judson Wallace, was enough for the Tigers to hold off a late Monmouth run and defeat the Hawks by a 56-52 score.
The record-setting day for the Tigers (5-2) was also a milestone day for one other reason. Princeton's fifth win of 2004-05 was the 1,500th win in program history, making the Tigers one of just 14 programs in NCAA Division I to have reached that number. Wallace, who scored a season-high 23 points, shot 13-for-13 from the line, outdoing three other 12-for-12 performances in team history, including his own last season in Princeton's Ivy-clinching win at Dartmouth. As a team, Princeton's 18-for-18 mark from the line outdid a 15-for-15 performance against Harvard eight seasons ago.
"I don't think I concentrated more," said Wallace, who entered the game shooting an uncharacteristically low 67% from the line. "I know I'm a good free-throw shooter, and I think I should make every one."
It turns out that the Tigers needed every one of those free throws, not to mention stellar games overall from Wallace and fellow senior Will Venable, to stave off a charge of a Monmouth (1-6) team that looked out of it early in the second half. When Scott Greenman hit the first of two three-point shots in a two-minute span, the Tigers had a 37-21 lead.
Princeton still had a 50-40 lead with 5:18 left, but the Hawks then clamped down defensively to get back into it. Chris Kenny's three-point shot off an unsettled offensive rebound situation with 2:10 left pulled Monmouth within 50-46, and Blake Hamilton's two free throws after a Tiger 35-second violation pulled the Hawks within two. But Venable then drove the lane and scored with the shot clock running down to put Princeton back ahead by four, 52-48, with 41 seconds left, and Greenman and Wallace hit four free throws in the final 20 seconds to help put the game away.
Monmouth's Tyler Azzarelli, who had cut the Princeton lead to 54-52 with a layup with 15 seconds left, missed a short jumper and an off-balance three-point shot as time expired.
"As I told the guys in the locker room, we don't play any bad teams here at Princeton," said Tiger head coach Joe Scott. "This is a team that was in the NCAA tournament last year and is picked to win its conference, so they're not going to give up when they get down, especially on their home court."
Princeton, which won its fourth straight game, broke a 15-game Monmouth home winning streak that dated back to the 2002-03 season. The Hawks were a perfect 13-0 at home a year ago. In addition to Wallace's 23 points, Venable added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds, and Greenman had eight points, four rebounds and four assists without a turnover.
"At this point being 5-2 with six of our first seven on the road, I'm extremely happy with that record," said Scott. "It's hard to win on the road, especially against good competition like Monmouth.
The Tigers trailed 15-13 midway through the first half, but then used a 24-6 run in a 12-minute stretch that spanned halftime to seemingly take control with that 16-point lead. The first Princeton run was a 9-0 stretch, capped by a Venable layup with 3:08 left in the first half, that gave the Tigers a 22-15 lead. Leading 27-19 at halftime, the Tigers then scored 10 of the first 12 points of the second half, including Greenman's three-pointer with 16:43 left that forced a Monmouth timeout.
Blake Hamilton finished 13-for-20 from the free-throw line for Monmouth, scoring a team-high 21 points. Dejan Delic had 11 points and was the catalyst for the Hawks in the early part of their second-half comeback, hitting three three-point shots in a three-minute span to pull the Hawks back within single digits with 13 minutes left.
Monmouth shot just 35% for the game, however, including 22% (4 for 18) in the first half. The Tigers outrebounded the Hawks 31-22, with four Princeton players grabbing four or more rebounds.
Princeton improved to 9-2 against the Hawks all-time and won its fourth straight game against Monmouth.