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Princeton University Athletics
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The View From Room 310, Part 2; Princeton At The EA Sports Maui Invitational
November 21, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Again, the view on the front page isn't really from Room 310 of the Hyatt Regency Maui. Instead, that's the view you'll get if you walk out the front door of the Lahaina Civic Center, where Princeton played two major-conference opponents in a 21-hour span Monday and Tuesday.
The EA Sports Maui Invitational will certainly serve as good preparation for Princeton when the Ivy League season hits in February. The Tigers faced No. 10 Duke at 4 p.m. Hawaii time Monday, then came back to the civic center just 17 hours after that game ended to meet Arizona State in the second game of the day Tuesday at 11 a.m.
A strong Princeton contingent has followed the Tigers to Maui, and the group almost made as much noise before Monday's game as the Duke contingent that was probably three times its size. The Blue Devils also made some noise, however, jumping off to a big lead in the first 10 minutes, though Princeton did outscore Duke 57-52 in the final 30 minutes of the game. The final was 83-61.
Princeton's coaches stuck around for the Arizona State-Illinois game following the Duke game, but the Tiger coaches weren't the only interlopers among the many NBA scouts sitting on the court's west end. His Airness himself, Michael Jordan, was in the house to watch his son Jeff play for the Illini, and the presence of Jordan had cameras popping and the place buzzing.
Rumor has it that Jordan, an avid golfer, spent the morning playing golf at the Royal Kaanapali course down the street from the Lahaina Civic Center. Having spent the morning doing the same thing (don't worry, not on the company dime), I never saw Jordan and his entourage, though I did hit a 300-yard drive with the wind on the 16th hole, only to hit a six-iron into the water short of the green into the gale on the 135-yard 17th hole.
Anyway, back to the basketball.
Princeton's solid play from the second half against Duke continued in the first half against an Arizona State team that, like Princeton, fell behind early in its first-round game and could never recover.
A 10-0 run for the Tigers late in the half, which concluded with a Marcus Schroeder three-pointer from the left corner, gave Princeton a 25-23 lead and got the Tiger contingent in the stands going. Princeton would go into halftime trailing 31-27.
Arizona State freshman James Harden then took over in the second half, scoring 13 of his 22 points, and Princeton went cold from the field at the same time. The final score was 61-42 in a game that was much closer than that final score.
After the game, the Tigers had some free time to enjoy the pool and the beach before beginning preparations for Wednesday's game against host Chaminade at 7 p.m. ET. The Silverswords led LSU 41-36 at halftime Tuesday morning before losing by a 78-72 score.
Wednesday's game begins at 2 p.m. Hawaii time, and the Tigers leave for home at around 10:30 p.m. After an overnight flight to San Francisco, the Tigers will touch down in Philadelphia at 6:00 Thursday.--
Submitted By:
David Rosenfeld, from Room 310 of the Hyatt Regency Maui
Tues., Nov. 20, 10 p.m. HT