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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Marshall
Players Mentioned
Koncz Leads Princeton Over Marshall, 61-45
December 16, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Both Kyle Koncz and his Princeton team were due for big performances after some offensive struggles in their first two home games. The visiting Marshall Thundering Herd were the unwelcome recipients of those performances Saturday afternoon.
Koncz scored a Princeton season-high 20 points and had four three-pointers and the Tigers scored the first eight points of the second half to open up a big lead on the way to a big 61-45 victory over the Thundering Herd before 2,155 at Jadwin Gym.
After making just one of his 11 shots in the team's last three games, Koncz knocked down four of his eight three-point shots Saturday and five of his 10 shots overall. He also had four rebounds and two assists for the Tigers (7-3), who led by as many as 20 points in the second half.
"It was real important for me to get that first shot to go down today," said Koncz, who has made at least three three-point shots in seven of Princeton's 10 games. "I really concentrated on getting back into it this week in practice, and the guys did a good job of helping me get open looks."
Princeton led 27-20 at halftime but then broke the game open by not only scoring the first eight points of the second half but forcing two Marshall turnovers in the process. Koncz's third three-pointer of the game made it 30-20 two minutes into the half, and a Luke Owings three-pointer from the right corner then made it 33-20. Owings' turnaround layup in the paint four minutes into the half made it 35-20.
The Tigers led 49-29 after two Edwin Buffmire free throws with 8:50 left and never led by fewer than 13 points after that.
"We played well today on both ends of the court," said Joe Scott, the Franklin C. Cappon-Edward G. Green '40 Head Coach of Men's Basketball at Princeton. "We spent the week working on getting better at our offense and I think that showed. We were able to control the game in terms of the way we want to play for most of the game."
Marshall (3-7), making its first-ever trip to Princeton, was led by Chris Ross' game-high 17 points, all of which came in the second half. Ross made seven of his eight second-half shots and also had five rebounds.
Princeton shot 55% in the first half on the way to the seven-point halftime lead. The Tigers trailed 8-3 early on before getting hot from three-point range midway through the half, taking a 14-12 lead on Justin Conway's first three-pointer of the season with 9:32 on the clock.
The Tigers never trailed after that point and scored seven straight points in a three-minute span later in the half to take a 23-15 advantage on an Edwin Buffmire layup with 5:17 left.
The Thundering Herd shot 39% for the game and made just two of 10 three-point shots. Marshall's 45 points were a season low.
Princeton made nine of its 24 three-point attempts, with six players making at least one shot from behind the arc.
NOTES
* Koncz had now made 24 of his 53 three-point shots this season (45%). He also made his first 18 free throws of the season before missing consecutive foul shots in the second half Saturday.
* Marshall's 45 points were 14 fewer than its previous season low of 59, which came against Memphis two weeks ago. The Herd came in to the game averaging better than 72 points per game and had scored 57 points in the second half of its win against Wright State Wednesday.
* Princeton's 7-3 start matches both the 1996-97 and 1995-96 teams after 10 games. The Tigers were 2-8 after 10 games a year ago.
* The Tigers play at South Carolina Wednesday night. Princeton does not return home until a Jan. 6 meeting with another Conference USA team, Rice.