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Rally is Too Late for Men's Basketball in 56-52 Loss to Army
November 21, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Ending a more than 40-year break between visits to Princeton, Army welcomed itself back with a 56-52 victory over the Tigers Saturday afternoon. The win matches each team's record at 2-1.
Army had not played on Princeton's campus since the Tigers' final season in Dillon Gym and had not won at Princeton since the 1946-47 season.
A season ago, Princeton ended a hiatus in the series of 29 years by traveling to Army and picking up a 55-43 win, which also ended Princeton's 24-game losing streak away from Jadwin Gym.
Down 50-35 with less than six minutes to play against the Black Knights, Princeton looked like it might provide an encore to its 18-4 run that closed out a three-point win over Manhattan during the week, but this Tiger rally fell short.
Princeton whittled the deficit to three points at 52-49 with 48 seconds left while Army left the door open with a sub-par performance at the free-throw line down the stretch. In the final three minutes, Army went 6 for 13 from the line after making 4 of 5 from the stripe in the opening 37 minutes.
The Tigers' last gasp came when a Dan Mavraides turnover with 25 seconds left ended a key possession with Princeton down just four. Cleveland Richard, who led all scorers with 18 points, missed two free throws down at the other end, but the empty-handed possession for Princeton, coupled two Mavraides misses on subsequent trips down the floor, ended the Tiger threat.
Mavraides looked to be as good a choice as the Tigers had as a go-to man late in the game, with the junior's 14 points leading Princeton against Army and his season average of 14.3 points per game also pacing the team.
Princeton fell behind early, seeing Army take leads of 10-0 and 21-6, the latter coming with seven minutes to play before halftime. The Tigers ended the half down 27-14 after shooting 27.3 percent to Army's 54.5 percent.
The teams moved in the opposite direction in the second half, but Princeton's rally came too late. Army took its largest lead at 20 with a 41-21 advantage and 14:30 to play. The score stayed there for nearly three minutes before Princeton began to chip away, with a 10-0 run through the 8:47 mark of the second half.
Both teams were less than careful with the ball, combining for 50 turnovers with Princeton committing 27.
Senior co-captain Nick Lake's 10 points were his most since last Dec. 20 at Central Connecticut, where he also scored 10. Lake added a team-high seven rebounds, his most since a 14-point, nine-rebound game at Fordham last Nov. 26.
Princeton will take to the road for its next three games, at George Washington Tuesday, at California Nov. 29, and at Rutgers Dec. 3 before returning home Sunday, Dec. 6 against Lafayette.