Wallace, Savage, Defense Lead Tigers to 53-40 Win over Rutgers in Men's Basketball

Dec. 8, 2004

Box Score

Head coach Joe Scott and his Princeton men's basketball team have been getting it done with defense in the early season. Thanks to a great stretch of that defense and some timely three-point shooting, the Tigers got a big win over one of their biggest rivals in their first home game of 2004-05.

In the final 13:34, the Tigers held Rutgers to just one field goal. In a huge stretch late in the second half, Scott Greenman hit three-point shots on consecutive possessions to help turn a tight game into a 10-point Princeton advantage. And when it was over, the Tigers had a 53-40 win over the Scarlet Knights, their first victory over Rutgers since the 1999-2000 season. "This is a great rivalry between two schools with great traditions," said Princeton head coach Joe Scott, who coached his first game at Jadwin Gym as Tiger head coach in the 111th meeting between the two schools. "It was nice for our guys to get a win over them after a few losses in a row."

"I think we knew how important this game was right before the game when Judson (Wallace) and Will (Venable) talked about how they hadn't beaten Rutgers before," said Princeton freshman Noah Savage, who had a season-high 16 points. "It feels good to win at home."

Ollie Bailey scored for Rutgers (2-3) with 13:34 left to give the Scarlet Knights their biggest lead of the game, 33-27, but Ricky Shields' jumper in the lane with 3:29 left would be the only Rutgers field goal the rest of the night. Still, after Shields' jumper, the Scarlet Knights still trailed only 41-38.

That was when Princeton's three-point shooting finally took over. The Tigers (4-2), whose 35 three-point attempts were just four short of the school record, had made just eight of 32 attempts in the first 37 minutes of the game before two consecutive threes put the game away. Greenman's three-pointer with 2:24 left gave the Tigers a 46-38 lead, and another one 50 seconds later put Pirnceton ahead by 10.

Wallace had his best game of the season for Princeton, which won its third straight game. The senior center had a season- and game-high 18 points, shooting 7 for 14 from the field and 3 for 7 from three-point range, and his 11 rebounds after entering the game with 17 rebounds in four games.

"I thought we shot better in the second half because we were able to get behind their zone and get some layups," said Scott. "That seemed to help our three-point shooting as well."

Savage helped keep the Tigers close early in the game, scoring nine of his 16 points in the first 22 minutes of the game, including a three-pointer with 18:20 left that gave Princeton a 26-23 lead. Wallace's free throw a minute later gave the Tigers a four-point lead, but the Scarlet Knights then scored 10 straight points in the next four minutes before going cold from the field.

Shields, Quincy Douby and Bailey each scored 11 points for Rutgers, which lost its third straight game and shot just 33% from the field for the game, including 4 for 20 in the second half. Rutgers was just 3 of 13 from three-point range.

"We think with our defense we can hold teams to around 20 points per half," said Wallace, who also added three assists. "We held them to 40, and we believe we can do that every game."

Princeton had held Lafayette to 38 points earlier this season. The Tigers entered the game ranked in the top five nationally in field-goal percentage defense.

Princeton made a season-high 11 three-point shots overall. The 35 attempts were the Tigers' most since a team-record 39 attempts against Fresno State in December 1995. Savage finished 4 for 10 from beyond the arc, while Greenman and Wallace combined for six three-pointers.

Princeton now leads the all-time series 72-39, including a 43-14 advantage in games played in Princeton.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Next Event