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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Penn
Players Mentioned
Zoller Leads Penn to 64-48 Win over Princeton in Men's Basketball
March 06, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Mark Zoller scored 23 points and had seven rebounds and Penn scored on 13 of its first 14 possessions of the second half to take control of the game on the way to a 64-48 win over Princeton in the Tigers' season finale before 2,952 at Jadwin Gym Tuesday night.
Penn (22-8, 13-1 Ivy) led just 28-20 early in the second half but then scored nine of the next 11 points to take a 37-22 lead on a Zoller three-point play three minutes into the half. The Quakers would then use a 12-2 run midway through the half to take a 50-28 lead on two free throws by Ibby Jaaber five minutes later.
"Tonight we were beaten by a better team and the league champions," said Princeton head coach Joe Scott. "Their two seniors are terrific players who really helped them take control of the game in the second half."
Princeton (11-17, 2-12 Ivy), which was led by Zach Finley's 12 points, never led after Darren Smith scored for Penn three minutes into the game to make it 4-2. Lincoln Gunn's three-point shot 20 seconds into the second half pulled the Tigers within eight before Penn began the first of its two second-half scoring runs.
The Quakers shot 54% for the game (23 for 43), including 57% in the first half. Penn led just 17-15 after Mike Strittmatter scored for Princeton with seven minutes left in the first half, but Jaaber and Brian Grandieri led an 11-2 Penn run the rest of the half that gave their team a 28-17 halftime lead.
Finley scored eight of his 12 points in the second half for the Tigers, who shot 52% in the final 20 minutes after making just 32% of their shots in the first half. Noah Savage added nine points in 19 minutes off the bench, including three shots from behind the arc.
Jaaber and Grandieri added 10 points apiece for Penn, which had clinched the Ivy League title and the league's automatic NCAA tournament berth this past weekend with a win over Yale. Penn finished the Ivy season three games ahead of the second-place Bulldogs in the league standings.
The game was the final one at Princeton for seniors Edwin Buffmire, Luke Owings and Justin Conway, who were recognized in a pregame ceremony. Owings had six points and six rebounds for the Tigers, while Buffmire made two of his three shots from the field in 12 minutes and Conway, Princeton's captain, could only play four minutes due to a lower back injury.
Zoller, the league's leading scorer, shot 9-for-13 from the field for Penn, which also made 17 of its 21 free-throw attempts. The Quakers won their 10th straight game, eight of which have come by 12 points or more.
NOTES
* Marcus Schroeder tied a career high and a Princeton season high with seven assists for Princeton. Schroeder, who played 36 minutes, concluded his freshman season having played 1085 of a possible 1130 minutes for the Tigers.
* Owings finished his career 11th all-time at Princeton with 114 three-point shots. He had 680 career points in 105 games.
* Princeton will play in the Maui Invitational in November, joining Duke, Oklahoma State, Illinois, LSU, Arizona State, Marquette and host Chaminade in the field. The tournament takes place from Monday-Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving.