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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Columbia
Players Mentioned
Unlikely Heroes Lead Tigers To 75-64 Win Over Columbia
March 07, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Senior Zach Woolridge had scored five points in 11 career appearances. Freshman Kareem Maddox didn't play in Princeton's first eight Ivy League games. Together, however, they led the Tigers to an impressive victory over Columbia Friday night at Jadwin Gym.
Woolridge had all 15 of his points in the first half to help Princeton to a 38-30 lead at the break and Maddox then scored all 14 of his points in the second half to help the Tigers keep in the lead in a 75-64 Princeton win, ending a nine-game losing streak and extending a home winning streak against Columbia to 15 straight years.
"I knew I was probably going to start when I was playing with the first team early in the week," said Woolridge, who also had four rebounds and three assists in addition to his 15 points. "You always want to be on the floor and play a lot, but you never stop preparing the same way no matter what your role."
"I feel like I'm getting more comfortable in the offense," said Maddox, who shot 6 for 9 from the field in 17 second-half minutes. "In this offense, if you're open, you shoot it, and they went in for me today."
"Zach is a player I have a lot of respect for, and he is a great representative of Princeton University," said Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson. "He hasn't seen a lot of playing time because of some guys ahead of him, but that doesn't mean that his contributions mean any less."
Princeton (6-21, 3-9 Ivy) shot an Ivy League season-best 53% from the field and took as much as a 12-point lead with eight minutes left. Columbia (14-14, 7-6 Ivy) then put the Tigers on the foul line in the final minutes, hoping for a comeback, but Princeton made 18 of 22 free throws on the game to make that strategy moot.
The Tigers' 75 points were a season high and their most in a game since defeating Harvard 75-48 at Jadwin Gym in February 2006.
Woolridge was hot from the field early in his first career start, and his three-point shot with five minutes gone gave Princeton a 14-10 lead and gave the senior from California eight of his team's first 14 points.
Princeton then scored 10 of the final 14 points of the first half to take an eight-point halftime lead, with Jason Briggs, another unsung hero, scoring five points in that stretch.
In the second half, the Tigers would extend their lead to 11 points when Maddox, who entered the game for the first time with 17 minutes left, scored five straight points in the lane, the final one a three-point play with 16 minutes left.
Columbia got within 64-57 on Brett Loscalzo's three-pointer with 2:19 left, but he missed a three-pointer on his team's next possession and the Lions never threatened.
John Baumann led Columbia with 21 points, while Niko Scott scored 20. Princeton limited the Lions to just 40% shooting in the second half.
Noah Savage led Princeton with 18 points, while Briggs had 12 to give the Tigers four players in double figures.
Columbia has not won at Jadwin Gym since 1993. Princeton will try to keep Cornell from finishing the Ivy League's first 14-0 season since 2003 Saturday night when the Big Red visits Jadwin at 7:30 p.m.