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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
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Dartmouth
Players Mentioned
Tigers Hold On For 57-53 Win Over Dartmouth In Ivy Opener
February 01, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Princeton now has its first two-game winning streak since November. Even more importantly, the Tigers are 1-0 in the Ivy League.
Lincoln Gunn hit two big three-point shots in a 10-0 Princeton run midway through the second half and scored a team-high 17 points as the Tigers defeated Dartmouth, 57-53, before 2,122 at Jadwin Gym Friday night.
Princeton (4-12, 1-1 Ivy) trailed 42-39 with 10 minutes left, but Gunn's three-piont shot with 7:54 left put the Tigers ahead for good at 44-42. He then hit another three-pointer after a Jason Briggs steal with 6:34 left, and Kevin Steuerer's driving layup a minute later made it 49-42 Princeton.
"It means we're 1-0," said Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson after the game. "We can't get too high right now just like we couldn't get too low after some of our losses. I thought we really fought tonight and made it our game in the second half."
"I felt like I got of lot of reps in shooting the ball during the exam break the last few weeks and it felt good shooting it tonight," said Gunn, who made five three-point shots and also had four rebounds. "I feel confident in my ability if I get good looks."
Princeton led 30-28 at halftime, despite the fact that Dartmouth shot 52% in the first half, but the Tigers turned the table on those stats in the final 20 minutes. Princeton shot 56% from the field in the second half and limited Dartmouth to just 33% shooting.
Alex Barnett, the Ivy League's leading scorer and rebounder, finished the game with game highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds for Dartmouth (8-9, 1-2 Ivy), while Marlon Sanders had 15 points. The Big Green shot just 1 for 7 from three-point range.
Noah Savage added 15 points and five rebounds for Princeton, which improved to 80-16 all-time against Dartmouth in Princeton.
"We haven't gotten off to great starts in Ivy play during my career so it feels good to get this one," said Savage. "It's an important win but it's just one win and we have to get another one tomorrow."
The Tigers took their biggest lead of the game midway through the first half, 19-10, after two Savage free throws, but Dartmouth scored 12 of the next 15 points after that to tie at 22 on a Sanders jumper five minutes later. The game seesawed back and forth for the first 10 minutes of the second half before the Tigers made their decisive run.
Princeton hosts Harvard Saturday night at 6 p.m. The game will be televised live by ESPNU. The Crimson fell to Penn, 73-69, at The Palestra Friday night. Cornell stayed unbeaten in league play (3-0) with a win at Brown, while Columbia won at Yale in Friday action.