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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Columbia
Wallace Leads Men's Basketball Past Columbia, 75-52
February 27, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2004
Box Score
Judson Wallace accomplished something Friday night at Jadwin Gym that no Princeton player had accomplished in 27 seasons. Thanks to that effort and host of others, the Tigers also moved one step closer to an Ivy League title with their biggest victory of the league season.
Wallace scored 24 points, becoming the first Princeton player since Frank Sowinski in 1976-77 to score 20 or more points in five games in a row, and added nine rebounds, five assists, four blocks and four steals as the Tigers used a strong second half and 72% shooting from the field to defeat Columbia, 75-52, before 3,630 at Jadwin Gym.
Princeton (16-7, 9-1) just missed setting a program record for field-goal percentage in a game (28 for 39, 71.8%) and had 22 assists on its 28 baskets, but it was the all-around play of Wallace that again led the Tigers to their fifth-straight win. "His performance was outstanding," said Columbia head coach Joe Jones. "It kind of reminded me a little of bit of (former Duke star) Christian Laettner."
"I'm not actually a big fan of Christian Laettner," said Wallace, an Atlanta native who used to watch Laettner when he played for the Atlanta Hawks. "But it's a very nice compliment to get. I just think I've been a lot more assertive recently when I get the ball in a position to score."
Wallace shot 8-for-10 from the field, 2-for-2 from three-point range and 6-for-8 from the foul line, slashing to the hoop for big buckets and making key plays on defense. He set a career high with both his four blocks and four steals and missed out on tying a career-best in assists by one.
"I'm not sure whether it was his best game of the year or not," said head coach John Thompson of Wallace, "but he really is playing well right now. He's not thinking as much when he gets the ball and he's just making plays."
Wallace wasn't the only one making plays for Princeton, which jumped out to as much as a 13-point lead in the first half and used a big middle part of the second half to take as much as a 25-point lead late in the game. Will Venable scored 15 points and added six assists, while Scott Greenman made all five of his first-half shots and finished with 12 points while freshman Luke Owings has 12 points in a season-high 24 minutes off the bench.
Princeton led by nine points at halftime, 34-25, and had just a six-point lead, 38-32, after Dalen Cuff's fifth three-pointer of the game for Columbia (8-16, 4-7) with 17:41 to go, but the Tigers then scored 20 of the next 27 points to take a 19-point lead with just under 10 minutes to go.
Cuff led the Lions with 19 points, shooting 5 for 6 from three-point range and 7 for 8 from the field overall to help keep Columbia in the game early. Leading scorer Matt Preston shot just 3 for 12 from the field and scored only seven points.
Princeton shot 8 for 13 from three-point range and 11 for 14 from the free-throw line, and four different Tiger players had at least four assists. The Tigers also outrebounded Columbia 28-16, including 21-6 on the defensive glass.
Wallace, Princeton's leading scorer, is now averaging 23.6 points and 7.6 points in his last five games, all Tiger wins. He has scored 20 or more points in nine of Princeton's last 15 league games dating back to last season.
Princeton (9-1) remains one-and-a-half games ahead of Brown (8-3), a winner over Dartmouth tonight, and two games ahead of Penn (7-3), a winner over Cornell, in the race for the Ivy League title. The Tigers host the Big Red tomorrow night at Jadwin Gym (7:37 p.m., Patriot, WPRB 103.3 FM, GoPrincetonTigers.com)