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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Harvard
Men's Basketball Wins Double Overtime Thriller over Harvard, 58-50
February 07, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2004
Box Score
Harrison Schaen scored only four points and played only eight minutes, and Scott Greenman didn't score for nearly 29 minutes after not missing a shot in the first half. But that unheralded duo proved to be the combination that finally gave Princeton a victory over Harvard in the first double-overtime game in Jadwin Gym history.
Greenman hit a huge three-pointer from the right wing with the shot clock winding down and 1:10 left in the second overtime, giving the Tigers a 53-47 lead, and Schaen had the game-tying layup late in regulation and two huge steals in overtime as Princeton defeated the Crimson, 58-50, before a season-high 5,154 fans.
Schaen took a pass from Ed Persia and hit a floater in the lane with 23 seconds left in regulation, tying the game at 42. He then blocked Jason Norman's shot near the end of the first overtime, keeping the game tied at 46, and hit two free throws 10 seconds into the second overtime to give Princeton a lead it would never relinquish. Schaen then would have a steal on Harvard's next possession, setting up Will Venable's layup that gave the Tigers a four-point lead, and his steal with 1:40 left and Princeton holding onto a three-point lead set up the possession that led to Greenman's big three-point shot. "It's just as important for me to play well defensively as it is on the offensive end," said Schaen. "I'm looking to contribute in any way I can whenever I get on the floor."
The Tigers (11-6, 4-0 Ivy), now the only undefeated team in league play thanks to Yale's win over Cornell in New Haven, won the game despite missing their first 12 shots of the second half and not scoring a field goal in the first 12:32 of the half. Still, Princeton was only down 38-36 when Ed Persia gave the Tigers their first field goal of the half with 7:28 left.
"It's a credit to our defense that we're still able to be in the game after not making a shot for a long time," said Thompson, whose Tigers held Harvard to just 26% shooting for the game (14 for 54). "We were able to win tonight because of our defense."
And then there was Greenman, who hit all four of his first-half shots as the Tigers used a 16-2 run to recover from a slow start and lead 26-20 at halftime. The sophomore guard had missed his next three shots after that, including a floater in the lane with two seconds left in regulation and the score tied at 42, but nailed a three-point shot off the dribble with a hand in his face in the second overtime to finally give Princeton the breathing room it needed.
"There wasn't much happening on that possession, so I had to make something happen for us," said Greenman, whose seven points in the second overtime gave him a career-high 16 points for the game. "But we won tonight because of our defense, and that's something we've been doing all year."
Greenman had the game-winning opportunity at the end of regulation after Harvard's Matt Stehle and Michael Beal miscommunicated on the inbounds pass after Schaen's game-tying shot, giving Princeton the ball underneath its own basket. The Tigers also had a chance to win the game at the end of the first overtime after Harvard committed a shot clock violation with under 10 seconds left, but Andre Logan dribbled the ball off his foot while driving the lane and the buzzer sounded before either team could gain possession.
Harvard (2-17, 1-4 Ivy), which was led by Norman's 15 points and 14 points from Stehle, led by as many as six points in the second half, 38-32, when Luke McCrone made two free throws with 8:19 left. The Tigers would then score six straight points to tie the game, but the Crimson regained a four-point lead with under four minutes left on two Graham Beatty free throws. Will Venable's layup with 2:22 left pulled Princeton within 42-40.
"We have to play hard on the defensive end in order to win because we've had difficulty scoring," said Harvard coach Frank Sullivan, whose Crimson had given up 103 points to Penn a night earlier. "I was happy with the defensive effort, but Princeton has some kids who have been in big situations before and they made big plays."
Venable recorded the first "double-double" of his career, scoring 11 points while adding a career-best 10 rebounds, while Persia also had 11 points and five rebounds. Princeton shot just 2 for 16 from three-point range, including 0 for 8 in the second half, but held the Crimson to just 4 for 19 shooting from behind the arc.
Princeton, 4-0 in the Ivy League for the fourth straight year under Thompson, has held all four of its Ivy League opponents to 50 or fewer points. Those four teams have shot a combined 56 for 180 (31%) from the field and just 11 for 60 (18%) from three-point range.
The game was the first double overtime game in Princeton since a win over Navy in the 1952-53 season, making it the first double overtime game in Jadwin Gym, built in 1969.