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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Wyoming
Koncz, Defense Lead Tigers to 59-50 Win Over Wyoming
December 10, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 10, 2005
Box Score
Kyle Koncz took a struggling Luke Owings' place in the starting lineup for Princeton Saturday night against Wyoming. The switch turned out to be great for both of them, and even better for the Tigers as a whole.
Koncz had a career-high 18 points, including two key three-point shots in the final minutes to stave off a Wyoming run, and Owings equalled a season-high with 17 points in 28 minutes off the bench as the Tigers broke a three-game losing streak with a 59-50 win over the Cowboys before 2,804 at Jadwin Gym.
Koncz, a sophomore, entered the game with 19 career points but nearly equalled that number in one game, making five three-point shots while playing all 40 minutes. His biggest came with 3:01 left, when he drilled a long trey from the left wing with just a few seconds left on the shot clock to give the Tigers (2-4) a 51-47 lead. After three Princeton defensive stops after that, Koncz hit another three from the baseline with just under a minute left to give Princeton a seven-point advantage.
"I was recruited here to be a shooter and I've gotten a lot more confidence in the last few weeks," said Koncz. "Luke skipped the ball to me and my defender was laying a little off of me, so I thought that we weren't going to get a better shot than that."
"Kyle obviously is a good shooter and is going to make shots, but I was more impressed with his defense tonight," said Princeton head coach Joe Scott. "He was active in every way on defense, and that led to confidence on the offensive end."
Princeton led 37-22 at halftime after its most impressive 20-minute stretch of the year. The Cowboys (4-4) scored the game's first five points, but the Tigers then went on a 20-3 run in a seven-minute span. Both Koncz and Noah Savage hit two three-pointers in the run. The Cowboys would cut their deficit to 30-22 on a Steve Leven three-pointer with 4:21 left, but Princeton then scored the final seven points of the first half, the final ones coming on an Owings three with 26 seconds on the clock. The Cowboys immediately began a comeback in the second half, scoring 13 straight points to make it close. Owings' three-pointer 9:16 into the half was only Princeton's second field goal of the half and put Princeton back ahead by seven points at 42-35.
"This team is growing," said Scott. "We need to know how to extend a lead and build it, but it was also good to be able to respond when things get hard, because there's a point in every game where it's going to get difficult."
The Tigers were back ahead by eight at 48-40 before Wyoming's final run. James Ebert and Brad Jones made jumpers in the lane to make it 48-44 with 4:16 left, and Kevin Lewis's three-pointer made it 48-47 before Koncz's key three-pointer.
Leven lead Wyoming with 15 points, while Lewis had 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Wyoming had 17 turnovers in the game and just six assists.
Princeton made 11 three-pointers for the second game in a row, connecting on 11 of its 26 attempts from beyond the arc. The Tigers made just six of 18 field-goal attempts in the second half but salted the game away by making seven of eight free-throw attempts in the second half.
The Tigers lost at Wyoming in double overtime last season. The Cowboys were making their first road appearance at an Ivy League school.
Cowboy forward Justin Williams, who entered the game leading the nation in blocked shots, certainly didn't disappoint Saturday night. Williams had eight of his team's nine blocks, but had just two points and four rebounds after entering the game averaging a double double.