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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Monmouth
Players Mentioned
Monmouth Hands Princeton 59-50 Defeat In Men's Basketball
December 30, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Another poor-shooting first-half doomed Princeton Sunday afternoon at Monmouth as the Hawks outscored the Tigers 20-10 in the final 10 minutes of the half and shot 53 percent from the field in the second half on the way to a 59-50 win in front of 1,869 at Boylan Gymnasium.
Princeton made just 9 of 26 first-half shots (35%), including just 3 of 13 from three-point range, all of which came in the game's first nine minutes. Meanwhile, reserve center Dutch Gaitley was leading Monmouth (3-10) to a double-digit halftime lead, 32-21, with nine points and four rebounds in the first 20 minutes. He entered the game averaging 2.1 points per game.
The Tigers (2-10) would score five quick points in the first minute of the second half, forcing a Monmouth timeout, but the Hawk guards would respond quickly to that run, with Whitney Coleman scoring eight points in the first seven minutes of the half to give his team a 14-point lead at 46-32.
"Sometimes it's offense, sometimes it's defense, but we just haven't been able to put together a full 40-minute effort of Princeton basketball," said Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson.
"It's frustrating because I felt like we had a good week of practice and it didn't show up in the game today," said Princeton senior forward Kyle Koncz, who led the Tigers with 14 points. "Staying true to the scouting report and putting in a full 40 minutes is going to end up getting us a win."
Monmouth shot 55% (10 for 18) in the first half and 54% for the game (20 for 37) on the way to ending a seven-game losing streak. The Hawks led by as many as 18 points with seven minutes remaining in the game and 17 with 4:26 left before the Tigers scored the game's final eight points.
Koncz shot 5 for 10 from the field and knocked down three three-point shots on the way to his team-high 14 points, while Zach Finley had 12, eight of which came in the first half. The Tigers shot just 6 for 22 (27%) from three-point range for the game, however.
Coleman led a balanced Monmouth scoring attack with 13 points, all of which came after halftime as the Hawks pulled away. Gaitley finished the game with 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Jhamar Youngblood had 10 points. Seven Monmouth players scored at least four points in the game.
Nine Princeton players scored in the game, though Lincoln Gunn, averaging 10.1 points per game, had just five points. He did have three of Princeton's 12 assists.
Monmouth went to the free-throw line 23 times compared to seven for the Tigers. The Hawks were 8 for 9 from the line in the first half but just 5 for 14 from the line in the second half.
Monmouth won its second straight game over the Tigers and improved to 2-4 against Princeton all-time at Boylan Gym. The teams have now played 13 times in the last 17 seasons, with Princeton holding a 9-4 advantage.
Princeton looks to end a 10-game losing streak a week from Sunday when it travels to Lehigh for a 1 p.m. game at Stabler Arena.