Men’s Basketball Falls Just Short in NIT First Round at Third-Seeded VCU

Tuesday, March 15

Richmond, Va.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

23-7,12-2Ivy League

VCU

22-9,14-4Atlantic 10

Princeton

VCU

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Men’s Basketball Falls Just Short in NIT First Round at Third-Seeded VCU

March 15, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. – Despite taking an early lead, the Princeton University men's basketball team fell just short against third-seeded Virginia Commonwealth University, 90-79, Tuesday night in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) inside the Siegel Center.

Junior Tosan Evbuomwan was dominant for the Tigers, and had a double-double; he finished with a team-high 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting, a game and career-high 12 rebounds, along with a game-high seven assists. He ends the 2021-22 season with 142 assists, which ranks second all-time in school history for most assists in a season.

Senior Ethan Wright added 18 points and seven rebounds, while junior Ryan Langborg added 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field, and 4-for-5 shooting from. Senior Jaelin Llewellyn also had double digit points, finishing with 13.

The Tigers finished 2021-22 with four school records; highest scoring average (79.8), most points scored in a season (2395), most field goals made in a season (910), and the most three-pointers made in a season (327).

While the Rams scored the opening basket of the game, an Evbuomwan layup with 17:50 on the clock sparked a 9-0 run, that saw Princeton take a 9-3 lead with 15:20 left in the half, following a coast-to-coast layup by Evbuomwan.

The Rams fought back and took a 11-10 lead at 13:15, but a Wright layup along with a powerful one-handed dunk by Evbuomwan gave the Tigers a 13-10 advantage with 12:36 on the clock. The contest developed into a back-and-forth battle, with a pull-up by jumper by senior Drew Friberg knotting the score, 20-20, with 8:23 remaining in the half.

VCU would battle back, and take a 27-22 lead at 6:54. A layup by senior Elijah Barnes made it a three-point game, 31-28, with 3:22 on the clock, but the Rams would take a 39-32 advantage into the half.

Princeton quickly narrowed the margin to two points early in the second half, as a layup by Wright made it 41-39 with 18:15 left to play. The Tigers continued to keep it close, as a fast-break layup by Llewellyn at 15:02 made it 50-48, but the Rams managed to narrowly stay in front, and took a 60-53 lead with 12:35 on the clock.

VCU extended its lead to 69-59 at 7:27, but a long three-pointer by Langborg with 7:12 on the clock halted the Rams' momentum, making it 69-62. Another Langborg three, his fourth of the night, made it 71-65 with 5:33 remaining, and another layup by Wright with 0:33 left to play made it 86-79, as the Tigers refused to quit. Despite Princeton's best efforts late, the Rams held on for the 90-79 win and moved on to the second round of the NIT.