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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
VMI
Players Mentioned
Tigers Hold On For 73-68 Win over VMI at BCA Classic
November 11, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Princeton almost let a big second half lead slip away against VMI Saturday afternoon at the BCA Classic. But Tigers' tandem of freshman guards made a pair of plays to ensure their team's first win of 2006-07.
Lincoln Gunn hit a three-point shot from the right corner with 33 seconds left, putting Princeton ahead by five points. Marcus Schroeder's steal a few seconds later led to a Justin Conway layup, putting Princeton ahead by seven. And the Tigers held on for a 73-68 win over the Keydets in a game played at Ohio State's Value City Arena.
The Tigers (1-1) looked like they had the game put away late in the second half, taking a 64-47 lead on Edwin Buffmire's score in the paint with 5:21 left. But VMI (0-2), led by high-scoring guard Chavis Holmes, came nearly all the way back, scoring 15 straight points, nine from Holmes, to make it 64-62 with 1:11 left.
After a 30-second timeout, Schroeder found Gunn open in the corner against the VMI zone, and the freshman drilled the shot to make it 67-62.
Schroeder then went high in the air to deflect a VMI pass with 20 seconds left, and Conway retrieved the ball in the backcourt and scored to make it 69-62 with 16 seconds left.
Conway led Princeton with 15 points and also shot 7 for 8 from the free-throw line. He also had six rebounds as the Tigers made a complete reversal of their rebounding fortunes from Friday night's loss to Loyola Chicago, outrebounding the Keydets 37-24, including 14-6 on the offensive glass.
"We talked about rebounding and how important it was after the game last night, this morning at shootaround and right before the game," said Conway, who had those 15 points in just 24 minutes. "It's not about anything more than toughness and effort and that's what we did on the boards."
"I obviously would love to have ended the game in a better way, but we played well against their style most of the game and got some back plays from our freshman late," said Princeton head coach Joe Scott. "Not having any time to prepare for the way they play, I thought we did a good job of passing the ball and finding open guys."
Princeton had 20 assists on 25 baskets against VMI's trapping zone and pressure defense, including all 12 of its first-half field goals. Schroeder led the way with seven assists, while Kyle Koncz and Edwin Buffmire each had four assists.
"I think Marcus did a real nice job against the way they play to have only three turnovers in 40 minutes," said Scott. "Lincoln got into the flow a little bit and made that big shot, and our experienced guys all had really good stretches tonight."
The Tigers made 10 of their 26 three-point shots for the game, with both Koncz and Gunn knocking down three shots from behind the arc. Luke Owings had 11 of his 14 points in the first half and also had five rebounds in just 14 minutes, while Koncz had all 13 of his points in the second half.
VMI scored 152 and 120 points in its two exhibition games before the regular season, and the Keydets trailed Ohio State just 51-43 at halftime in a first-round BCA Classic game Friday. Holmes helped get his team back in the game by scoring a tournament-high 29 points off the bench, 24 of which came in the second half.
The Keydets shot 54% in the second half but made just eight of 25 three-point shots. Reggie Williams had 11 points and Matt Murrer 10 points for VMI, which will play South Dakota State in Sunday's seventh-place game.
Princeton will play Alabama A&M, a 70-66 winner over South Dakota State Saturday, in Sunday's fifth-place game beginning at approximately 2:15 p.m. The game can be heard on WPRB-FM 103.3 and on the internet at GoPrincetonTigers.com.
NOTES
* Princeton outrebounded VMI 37-24 on Saturday after being outrebounded 33-14 by Loyola Friday.
* The Tigers have now made at least nine three-point shots in eight of their last 14 games dating back to last season.
* Princeton went on a 12-2 run in the final 5:00 of the second half to take a 33-24 lead at halftime. Owings had four points in that run, while Noah Savage had a layup and a three-point shot in the final minute of the half to give the Tigers the nine-point lead.
* Besides Conway's 7-8 performance from the line, the rest of the Tigers combined to shoot 6 for 13 from the free-throw stripe. VMI finished 14 for 17 from the line for the game.