Men's Basketball Outlasts Delaware To Wrap Up Non-Conference Play, 84-82

Calendar

No Upcoming Events

NEWARK, Del. – With assistance from four double-digit scorers, the Princeton University men's basketball team wrapped up non-conference play with its sixth true road win of the season Saturday afternoon, an 84-82 victory over Delaware inside the Bob Carpenter Center.

Sophomore Caden Pierce recorded his fifth double-double of the season and the 12th of his career with a game-high 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting along with a game-high ten rebounds, a team-high two steals and four assists. The Tigers have now won 15-consecutive games when Pierce grabs 10 rebounds or more and have a 15-1 record when he finishes with double-digit rebounds.

Sophomore Xaivian Lee added 18 points and four assists, while senior Matt Allocco finished with 16 points on 4-for-8 shooting, a team-high six assists and five rebounds. Senior Zach Martini set a new career-high with 16 points that came on 6-for-11 shooting from the field and 4-for-8 shooting from three. Junior Blake Peters also pulled down a career-high seven rebounds for the Tigers.

While the Blue Hens raced out to a 9-2 lead with 16:41 on the clock, a Lee three-pointer from the top of the arc at 15:21 ignited a 10-0 run that put the Tigers in front, 11-9, after a short jumper by Lee with 13:15 remaining. Princeton would then get ahead 17-11 with 11:39 left in the half after a Pierce three-point play followed by a Peters fast break three-pointer.

13:48 1st | Princeton 9, Delaware 9

AND ONE!

A 7-0 run!@CadenPierce_3 finishes through the foul and ties it up.

??: https://t.co/7dbicyxhkw #MakeShots ???? pic.twitter.com/bZZwJvO6jQ
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) December 30, 2023

Five-straight Allocco points saw Princeton go up double-digits, 25-15 with 8:35 on the clock, but an 8-0 run by the Blue Hens made it a two-point game at 5:53, 25-23. Princeton got hot to end the half; a Pierce three-point play followed by a Martini three-pointer gave the Tigers a 40-25 advantage with 2:22 on the clock, then Peters drilled a three-pointer with 00:12 remaining to give Princeton a 43-27 lead at halftime.

8:35 1st | Princeton 25, Delaware 15

AND ONE!@MattAllocco spins by the defenders and finishes through contact!

??: https://t.co/7dbicyxhkw #MakeShots ???? pic.twitter.com/PCUmkhcVaV
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) December 30, 2023

The second half was a similar story at the start; the Blue Hens narrowed the deficit to 12, 45-33, with 17:06 remaining but an Allocco three-pointer with 16:45 left to play saw the Tigers go up 48-33. Consecutive layups by Lee and sophomore Jack Scott extended Princeton's lead to 17 with 13:59 on the clock, 57-40.

Delaware was able to trim it back down to 11, 63-52, with 10:01 remaining but a Lee layup followed by Martini's fourth-three-pointer saw the Tigers extend the lead back out to 16, 68-52. The Blue Hens refused to quit, using an 11-0 run make it a single-digit game, 70-66, with 3:04 left to play. Princeton was able to weather the storm, with a Pierce dunk and a pair of free throws by freshman Dalen Davis putting the Tigers ahead, 76-68, with 1:56 on the clock.

1:24 2nd | Princeton 78, Delaware 70@zachmartini5587 cuts hard and gets rewarded! His 16 points are a career-high!

??: https://t.co/7dbicyxhkw #MakeShots ???? pic.twitter.com/BAgUnC6bjL
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) December 30, 2023

A 9-0 Delaware run made it a one-point game, 82-81, with 00:05 left to play, but Lee drained a pair of free throws with 00:03 remaining to put Princeton up 84-82. The Blue Hens split a pair of free throws with 00:02 on the clock, with Pierce grabbing his 10th rebound right before time expired as the Tigers held on for the 84-82 triumph.

Up Next
Princeton opens Ivy League play at 2 p.m. inside Jadwin Gymnasium on Jan. 6 against Harvard (8-3).

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results