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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Harvard
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Princeton Routs Harvard in Men's Basketball, 66-44
March 04, 2005 | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2005
Box Score
On a night when its offense and its defense often clicked together beautifully, the Princeton men's basketball team began its three-game season-ending home swing by avenging a road loss at Harvard in a big way.
Princeton's 66-44 win over the Crimson before 4,703 at Jadwin Gym Friday night wasn't always pretty, not with the Tigers committing a season-high 21 turnovers. But the Tigers made up for those bad possessions with a whole lot of good ones, shooting a season-high 70% from the field to turn the game into their biggest win of the Ivy League season.
"We never wavered on defense, so even when we were struggling on offense we were still ahead," said Princeton coach Joe Scott. "Then we did some nice things on offense that let us pull away." The nice things on offense for Princeton (14-12, 5-7 Ivy) began with a 16-0 run at the end of the first half. The Tigers trailed 13-12 with under seven minutes left in the half, but then made four of seven three-point shots in the next six minutes to take a 28-13 advantage in the final minute of the half. All the while, Princeton was forcing four Harvard turnovers in that stretch, and only a Brian Cusworth free throw with under a second left pulled the Crimson (12-14, 7-6 Ivy) within 28-14 at halftime.
"We always talk about starting with our defense and it happened tonight," said senior forward Andre Logan, who shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from three-point range and scored a team-high 15 points off the bench for the Tigers. "If they're stuck on a number and we're keeping them from scoring, we're going to be able to get a lead with a few good offensive plays."
Logan wasn't the only one hot from the field for the Tigers, who used a variety of backdoor plays and long jumpers to shoot 80% in the second half and 26 for 37 (70.3%) for the game. Will Venable shot 6 for 8 from the field, had 13 points and seven assists, while Scott Greenman also had 13 points, including two big three-pointers in the 16-0 run that ended the first half.
Princeton would lead by as many as 21 points early in the second half. Harvard was within 45-30 after a Brian Cusworth layup with 8:48 to go, but the Tigers then blew it open again with a 14-4 run late in the half that concluded with a Venable layup and a 59-34 advantage at the four-minute mark.
"We've talked about learning how to extend a lead a lot," said Scott. "With the kind of defensive effort we had tonight, we were able to do that instead of letting them hang in the game."
The Tigers shot 10 for 16 from three-point range, including 7 of 10 from behind the arc in the first half. Harvard shot just 2 for 17 from beyond the arc, with leading three-point shooter Kevin Rogus finishing 0 for 6 from three-point range.
Matt Stehle led Harvard with 14 points and nine rebounds. The Crimson shot just 29% in the second half and 33% (15 for 46) for the game.
Princeton defeated Harvard at Jadwin Gym for the 16th straight season. The Tigers also clinched at least a .500 record in the regular season for the 20th straight year.
The Tigers host Dartmouth Saturday night. Members of the 1964-65 Princeton team, which reached the NCAA Final Four, will be recognized in a special halftime ceremony.