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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Tigers End Road Swing With Visit To Lehigh
January 04, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Princeton's final road non-conference game of the season comes Sunday afternoon at Lehigh, a game that also ends a three-game road swing for the Tigers as well as a stretch of six road games in a seven-game span. Game time at Stabler Arena is 1 p.m., and free live audio as well as live video at the TigerZone will be available at GoPrincetonTigers.com.
The Tigers, who have defeated Lehigh in each of the last two seasons, haven't lost to the Mountain Hawks (or, formerly, the Engineers) since the 1929-30 season, a span of 23 consecutive Princeton victories in the series. Princeton has also never lost at Lehigh, though 25 of the 32 games in the series have come in Princeton.
Princeton (2-10) looks for its first win since Nov. 14 against a Lehigh team that will be playing its third game this week after falling at Penn State on New Year's Eve and then at Columbia Wednesday night. The Mountain Hawks (6-7), like Princeton, are led by a first-year head coach in Brett Reed, who took over those duties after Billy Taylor left for Ball State.
Senior forward Kyle Koncz has averaged 13 points for Princeton in the last three games and has knocked down three three-pointers in each of those games. Koncz had 14 points for the Tigers in a 59-50 loss at Monmouth last Sunday, while sophomore center Zach Finley had 12 points and five rebounds in that game.
Princeton will play four straight home games after Sunday's game, beginning Wednesday night against Lafayette. The Tigers will then have an 18-day break between games due to reading period and first-semester exams.
TODAY'S TIP-IN...
By The Numbers Princeton has won 23 consecutive games against Lehigh dating back to the 1929-30 season. The teams renewed their men's basketball series in 2005 after not playing the previous eight seasons.
LAYUPS...
Lucky Number Seven Princeton has never lost at Lehigh (7-0).
A Good Ending Princeton defeated Lehigh 44-43 a year ago when Marcus Schroeder hit a free throw with no time on the clock after being fouled as time expired on an offensive rebound.
History Lesson Princeton defeated Lehigh 64-54 at Stabler Arena two seasons ago. The Tigers led by as many as 19 points in the second half of that game.
Filling It Up Kyle Koncz is averaging 13.3 points and shooting a combined 9 for 19 (47%) from three-point range in Princeton's last three games.
Numbers Game Zach Finley has a team-high seven double-figure scoring games this season for Princeton. He has scored fewer than eight points just three times in 12 games.
On Schedule Princeton hasn't played since last Sunday at Monmouth. Lehigh is playing its third game in the last seven days.
Road Warriors Sunday's game against Lehigh is Princeton's sixth road game in its last seven games. The Tigers play four straight home games after today, beginning Wednesday against Lafayette.
THE MID-RANGE GAME...
589 & Counting Princeton is one of only three Division I teams (Vanderbilt and UNLV are the others) to have made at least one three-point shot in every one of its games since the rule took effect for the 1986-87 season. The Tigers have now made at least one three-pointer in 589 straight games.
Up The Charts Both Kyle Koncz and Noah Savage now have 126 career three-point shots. They are tied for 10th all-time at Princeton in that category.
Valley High Princeton defeated both Lehigh and Lafayette last season. The combined margin of victory of the two games was three points.
January Thaw The Tigers do not play for 18 days after the Lafayette game Jan. 9. Princeton has its reading period and first-semester exams during that period.
Something In Common Princeton and Lehigh have played three common opponents. The Tigers beat Central Connecticut and lost to Monmouth and Penn State. Lehigh beat Monmouth but lost to CCSU and Penn State.
Conference Call Princeton doesn't play an Ivy League game until Feb. 1 this season.
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN...
Remembering VBK The Tigers are wearing a “VBK” patch on their uniforms in 2007-08 in honor of former Princeton coach Butch van Breda Kolff, who passed away in August. van Breda Kolff led the Tigers to the 1965 Final Four and had a 103-31 record in five seasons at Princeton.
Playoff Fever Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson hit the go-ahead three-point shot in overtime against Penn in the 1996 Ivy League playoff game at Stabler Arena. The Tigers went on to defeat defending NCAA champion UCLA in the NCAA tournament the following week.
Aloha & Mahalo Princeton was the first Ivy League team to play in the Maui Invitational.
The Jadwin Effect Princeton has won 90 of its last 119 games at Jadwin Gym (76%), including 63 of its last 78 Ivy League home games in that time.
Us Or Them Either Princeton (nine times) or Penn (10 times) has been the Ivy League's NCAA tournament representative in each of the last 19 seasons (1989-2006).
Us Or Them 2 Princeton has won 25 Ivy League titles; Penn has won 25 Ivy championships. The other six Ivy League schools have combined to win 10 league crowns.
Shining Moments Princeton has made 23 NCAA tournament appearances. Only 22 Division I schools had made more appearances than the Tigers entering 2006-07.
Branching Out Six Princeton graduates or former Princeton assistant coaches are currently Division I head coaches. (Bill Carmody, Northwestern; Craig Robinson '83, Brown; Joe Scott '87, Denver; John Thompson '88, Georgetown; Chris Mooney '94, Richmond; Sydney Johnson '97, Princeton).
The Worldwide Leader Princeton will appear on national television on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU at least six times this season.
Princeton In The Pros Two recent Princeton graduates play in Italy's top division. Mason Rocca '00 plays for Napoli and also played for the Italian national team in the 2006 FIBA World Championships, while Judson Wallace '05 plays for Capo D'Orlando after two seasons playing in Germany.
More Princeton in the Pros Former Tiger basketball star Chris Young '02 played in the Major League All-Star game in 2007. The San Diego Padres' starting pitcher led the National League in earned run average for much of the 2007 season.
Even More Princeton in the Pros Head coach Sydney Johnson played seven seasons of professional basketball in Italy and Spain after graduating from Princeton. His teams won three league championships in those seven seasons.
PLAYER NOTES & ANECDOTES
Bombs Away Kyle Koncz has made at least three three-point shots 16 times in 38 games in the past two seasons, including each of Princeton's last three games.
More Bombs Away Kyle Koncz made a team-high 51 three-point shots last year and has a team-high 25 three-point shots this season.
Toughing It Out Kyle Koncz did not practice after Jan. 1 last season due to a stress fracture in his foot but still played in 26 games and led the Tigers in scoring.
For Starters... Noah Savage has started 71 career games, most of any player on the current Princeton roster.
Playing The Percentages Noah Savage is a 37% career shooter from three-point range and a 76% career shooter from the free-throw line.
It's About Experience Noah Savage has played in 93 of 94 games in his career at Princeton.
Swatting Them Zach Finley's seven blocks against Chaminade were the most by a Princeton player since Chris Young had seven against Xavier on Dec. 27, 1999.
Record Breaker Zach Finley's seven blocked shots against Chaminade set a Maui Invitational record for blocks in a game.
A Perfect 10 Zach Finley made his first 10 shots in Princeton's season-opening win against Central Connecticut at Jadwin Gym Nov. 11.
Gunning It 6-3 Lincoln Gunn had his first career “double-double” at Rutgers with 13 points and 10 rebounds. His previous career high in rebounds in a game was six.
Double Trouble Lincoln Gunn has five double-figure scoring games this season.
Return To Paradise Lincoln Gunn served as a ballboy while attending the Maui Invitational several times as a child while growing up in California.
Devil Of A Game Marcus Schroeder's season-high 12 points led Princeton against Arizona State. He also had four rebounds in that game.
Stritt Talk 6-8 Michael Strittmatter made 22 of his 50 three-point attempts last season. He was leading the Ivy League in three-point percentage for much of the season.
Helping Out Kevin Steuerer is second on the team with 19 assists despite averaging fewer than 16 minutes per game this season.
History Lesson Kevin Steuerer's father Mickey was a team captain for the 1974-1975 Princeton team that won the National Invitation Tournament, the only Ivy League team to have won a postseason national tournament.
On Guard Matt Sargeant has made seven three-point shots in 15 attempts this season and 16 of 31 shots overall (52%) in 12 games.
Land O'Lake Sophomore Nick Lake has averaged seven minutes per game in nine games this season. He did not play as a freshman or in the first two games this season.
The New Guys Princeton has three freshmen on its 2007-08 roster, 6-8 Kareem Maddox and 6-3 Dan Mavraides are California natives, while 6-4 Bobby Foley comes to Princeton from Richmond, Va.