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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Loyola Chicago
Players Mentioned
Tigers Fall to Loyola Chicago in BCA Classic First Round, 68-57
November 10, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Princeton coach Joe Scott said he saw some of the good things he expected and some of the bad things he expected when the Tigers opened their season Friday night against Loyola Chicago at the BCA Classic. Against an experienced Loyola team picked to win its league in 2006-07, Princeton's effort wasn't quite enough.
J.R. Blount and Leon Young each scored 12 points to lead four Loyola players in double figures and the Ramblers held Princeton just two field goals in a nine-minute span midway through the second half on the way to a 68-57 win over the Tigers in the third of four games played at Ohio State's Value City Arena on Friday.
Princeton (0-1) committed just six turnovers compared to 13 assists and made nine of its 21 three-pointers, but the Ramblers (1-0) shot 59% for the game, 65% in the second half and outrebounded the Tigers 33-14, including 11-5 on the offensive glass.
"It seemed like we made maybe eight mistakes on defense and they capitalized all eight times," said Scott. "I felt like on every one of those 11 offensive rebounds, they got a basket off of them. We had guys play solid at times but those mistakes ended up hurting us against an experienced team like that."
The Tigers, who got a career-high 17 points off the bench from sophomore MIchael Strittmatter, trailed 29-24 at halftime and just 31-30 after Kyle Koncz's three-pointer with 17:46 left. Princeton then got a steal on the next Loyola possession, but Justin Conway missed a layup that would have put the Tigers ahead, and a Tracy Robinson three-pointer a minute later started an 8-0 Ramblers run from which the Tigers could never recover.
Loyola led by as many as 15 points with 2:52 left in the game after a Courtney Horton three-point play.
For Princeton, Strittmatter shot 6 for 7 from the field and a perfect 3 for 3 from three-point range in 25 minutes. Koncz was Princeton's other player in double figures with 13 points and also added three assists.
"We would have liked to start with a win but I think it's good we'll be right back out there tomorrow," said Strittmatter, who also had two assists. "We played well in stretches tonight but not enough of the time to win the game."
Princeton also got a strong performance from freshman point guard Marcus Schroeder, who played all 40 minutes and had three assists, two steals and no turnovers. Schroeder, part of an all-freshman starting backcourt with high school teammate Lincoln Gunn, also had two rebounds.
"Marcus was terrific for his first game, but rebounding obviously hurt us, and we simply didn't make enough shots when we got open ones," said Scott. "Layups, free throws and open threes are good looks and we didn't take advantage enough of those opportunities."
Robinson and Andy Polka added 10 points for Loyola, which made 24 of 41 shots for the game.
"I thought we did a good job of defending them most of the night," said Loyola coach Jim Whitesell. "They beat us a few times, but we stayed together and did enough on offense and on the boards to win the game."
Princeton will play VMI, a loser to Ohio State in tonight's fourth BCA Classic game, in a second-round game Saturday. The game will begin at approximately 2:15 p.m.
NOTES
* Saturday's game will be a WEB-ONLY broadcast until the end of the Princeton-Yale football game at approximately 3:30 EST. At that time, the game will be broadcast both over the internet and on WBUD-AM 1260 joined in progress.
* Senior Luke Owings started and played 14 minutes, grabbing a team-high four rebounds and making a second-half three-pointer. Owings had missed two weeks of practice after suffering an ankle sprain in practice Oct. 23.
* Loyola had no steals in the game. Princeton's six turnovers came on three offensive fouls on moving screens and three traveling violations. Loyola had 13 turnovers.
* Princeton held Loyola All-America candidate Blake Schilb to just six points, though he did have five assists and six rebounds. Schilb averaged nearly 18 points per game a year ago.
* Princeton and VMI have played just once before, in the 1964 NCAA tournament. The Tigers won that game by a 86-60 score at The Palestra in Philadelphia.