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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Penn
Tigers Drop Regular-Season Finale to Penn, 64-56
March 08, 2005 | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2005
Box Score
Steve Danley scored 13 points, including a key three-point play with 2:09 left in the game, and Penn shot 30 for 41 from the free-throw line, including a 12-for-14 performance from Jan Fikiel, as the Quakers earned their 20th win of the season with a 64-56 win over Princeton in a men's basketball game played at Jadwin Gym Tuesday night.
Princeton (15-13, 6-8 Ivy), which never led after Penn's David Whitehurst scored 3:32 into the game to make it 4-2, pulled within 53-51 with 2:41 left when Scott Greenman scored in the lane. But Danley then hit Penn's biggest basket of the game on its next possession, taking a feed from Tim Begley, scoring and drawing a foul. Danley's free throw made it 56-51 Penn with 2:09 left, and the Tigers' last real chance with 1:00 on the clock was unsuccessful as Will Venable's running jumper in the lane rimmed out. "I think this was a great team win for us and a great way to end a successful league season," said Penn head coach Fran Dunphy, whose team won in Jadwin Gym for the fourth straight year. "We had some guys step up and make big plays like they have all season.
Penn (20-8, 13-1 Ivy) swept the season series from the Tigers despite shooting just 36% for the game (15 for 42). The Quakers went to the line 41 times compared to 18 for Princeton and outrebounded the Tigers 34-24.
"We never could get over the hump," said Princeton head coach Joe Scott. "When we got to two or three, Penn made a play and we didn't. You have to give them credit for that. They've done it all season."
The Tigers trailed just 32-29 at halftime despite the fact that both of their centers, Judson Wallace and Mike Stephens, had three fouls apiece with 7:13 left in the half. Despite not playing with either player, Princeton was within one point at 29-28 after a Luke Owings basket with 1:29 left in the half. Tim Begley would hit a three-pointer with 43 seconds left to give Penn a 32-28 lead.
Penn looked like it might pull away midway through the second half when Ibby Jaaber's three-point shot gave the Quakers a 50-42 lead, but Wallace then converted a three-point play and then found Will Venable for a five-point run that cut Penn's lead to 50-47.
Wallace had all 12 of his points in the second half for Princeton and finished his career with 1,090 points, 16th on the team's all-time list. Venable had seven of his 11 points in the first half, including Princeton's first basket 1:25 into the game that made him the 26th 1,000-point scorer in program history.
"I think we showed a lot of character in coming back and playing well after getting off to the start we did in the league," said Venable. "It doesn't make it any better, but we never quit."
Fikiel had all 12 of his points at the foul line for Penn, while Jaaber had 13 points and three assists. Begley had 10 points and five rebounds for the Quakers, who won the league by five games over second-place Cornell (8-6).
Andre Logan had 11 points for the Tigers off the bench in his final game in a Princeton uniform. Fellow senior Mike Stephens helped keep Princeton in the game early, scoring all eight of his points in the first half when Wallace went out with early foul trouble.
NOTES
* Princeton's 6-8 finish in Ivy League play breaks a string of 51 consecutive seasons with at least a .500 record in conference play. The Tigers last finished under .500 in 1952-53, finishing 5-7 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League (EIBL).
* Will Venable finishes his career with 1,010 points, 26th on Princeton's all-time list. Venable also finished fourth all-time at Princeton with 155 steals and ninth all-time at Princeton with 253 assists.
* Princeton's Luke Owings scored the first, and last, basket of the 2004-05 NCAA Division I men's basketball regular season. He scored 33 seconds into Princeton's season opener against Bucknell Nov. 11, and scored with with three seconds left against Penn Tuesday night.