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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Lehigh
Players Mentioned
Men's Basketball Keeps Lengthy Streak Alive, Defeats Lehigh 73-64
January 07, 2009 | Men's Basketball
PRINCETON -- A change in the calendar has seemingly brought with it a key trait the Princeton men's basketball team didn't have in the final weeks of 2008. Instead of seeing their leads slip away, the Tigers have held their opponents right through the finish in the new year, adding a 73-64 win over Lehigh Wednesday night at Jadwin Gym.
Some of the motivation for the win came from a 19-point defeat a year ago at Lehigh, which ended a 22-game win streak in the series that dated to 1930.
"I talked to these guys about last year and I think they had a feel as to how I felt about last year's game," said Sydney Johnson, the Franklin C. Cappon-Edward G. Green '40 head coach of Princeton men's basketball. "I wasn't happy about it, and that may have gotten into our preparation for this game."
Princeton (4-8) still had its streak of defeating Lehigh (10-4) on campus, which included 16 straight wins since that 1930 loss. Eight times now, Lehigh has come to Jadwin Gym, and all eight times, the Mountain Hawks have left with a defeat.
Building on last year's triumph over the Tigers, it looked like Lehigh had a strong chance to end Princeton's home dominance over the visitors from Bethlehem. Lehigh hadn't lost in a month, with the Mountain Hawks winning their last five games to grow their record to 10-3. Princeton had broken a six-game losing streak only last weekend.
But the Tigers looked solid from the start, hitting 5 of 6 and 8 of 10 from the field to begin the game. Though Princeton wouldn't keep the 80% clip going, the Tigers shot 50% for the first half and 47.8% for the game, far better than Lehigh's 31.5%.
Even buoyed by the win over UNC Greensboro over the weekend, Tiger fans couldn't be blamed if they winced a bit in the game's waning minutes. Princeton's 11-point lead with 12 minutes left had dwindled to just four by the 5:44 mark and was again at four with less than four minutes left. But Princeton stopped Lehigh there.
"The last two games, we've stopped their runs," Princeton sophomore Dan Mavraides said after leading the Tigers with a career-high 21 points. "(We) keep it to a minimum and get back on offense and take charge again."
Mavraides has been a key to Princeton's success in the last few games, increasing his point total from 11 in a one-point loss at Lafayette to 17 in last Saturday's win over UNC Greensboro and 21 against Lehigh. Mavraides has led or co-led the Tigers in all three games.
"It's a tremendous win for us in the sense of just getting confidence and understanding that yes we can, we can win games," Johnson said. "Our offense is good and we have talent in this locker room. It's a pretty good victory."
Freshman guard Doug Davis joined Mavraides in double-figures with 14 points for his ninth game this season with 10 or more, and junior guard Marcus Schroeder, who recently regained a starting role, had his first double-digit game of the season with 10 points.
The Tigers will have 17 days away from competition for the finals break before the annual pre-Ivy League lower-division game against Division II Concordia (N.Y.) on Jan. 25 at Jadwin Gym. The date will mark the 40th anniversary, to the day, of Princeton's first game in Jadwin Gym, a win over Penn.