Men's Basketball Clinches Spot At Ivy Madness With 66-53 Triumph At Harvard

Friday, February 23

Cambridge, Mass.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

20-3,8-2Ivy League

Harvard

13-10,4-6Ivy League

Princeton

Harvard

Men's Basketball Clinches Spot At Ivy Madness With 66-53 Triumph At Harvard

February 23, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton University men's basketball team are officially headed to the 2024 Ivy League Tournament as the Tigers clinched their spot with a 66-53 victory over Harvard, Friday night inside Lavietes Pavilion.

The Tigers have now clinched a spot in the Ivy League tournament six times in its seven years of existence. In addition, the Tigers secured a third-straight 20-win season and the seventh 20-win season of Franklin C. Cappon-Edward C. Green '40 Head Coach Mitch Henderson's career.

"When we're playing like that it's a lot fun. It's the best part of my day, playing basketball. It was good to come up here & get the W."

Hear from @xaivianlee after he helped lead the Tigers to victory over the Crimson & clinch a spot in Ivy Madness!#MakeShots ???? pic.twitter.com/vgRiwzxn4C
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) February 24, 2024

Sophomore Xaivian Lee finished with a game-high 27 points on a night that he went 4-for-7 from three and 7-for-9 from the free throw line. Lee also finished with nine rebounds, a game-high six assists and two steals. It was Lee's eighth game this season with at least 20 points. Sophomore Caden Pierce recorded his 12th double-double of the season and the 19th of his career with 14 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Junior Blake Peters had eight points and a game-high three steals while freshman Dalen Davis added eight points and a career-high four rebounds off the bench.

Princeton jumped out to an 8-2 advantage with 16:48 on the clock following back-to-back Pierce three-pointers. Three-pointers by Peters and Lee put the Tigers ahead, 14-7, with 15:08 left in the half before another three-pointer by Lee extended Princeton's lead to nine, 20-11, at 12:36. The Crimson battled back and used a 7-0 run to make it a four-point game with 11:07 on the clock, 20-16, before narrowing the deficit to one, 25-24, at 7:43. With the shot clock expiring, Lee banked in a near half-court heave at 4:57 to give Princeton a 32-26 advantage then with 2:45 remaining in the half he drained a pair of free throws that ignited a 9-0 run on which the Tigers closed the half out on. Princeton would take a 43-31 lead into halftime, led by Lee's 22 points.

4:57 1st | Princeton 32, Harvard 26@xaivianlee, from long range!

??: https://t.co/1Rt45Y5i3H #MakeShots ???? pic.twitter.com/c4Irruk11F
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) February 24, 2024

Back-to-back three-pointers by Davis saw the Tigers jump out to a 53-37 advantage with 14:38 remaining. A pair of Lee free throws followed by a layup and a free throw by sophomore Jack Scott saw the Tigers go up, 57-40, with 12:16 before a long three-pointer by senior Zach Martini put the Tigers up 19 at 9:49, 61-42. Harvard used a 9-0 run to make it a 10-point game 61-51, with 4:27 on the clock but three-pointer by Peters at 4:01 halted the Crimson's momentum, putting Princeton in front 64-51. Peters drained a pair of free throws with 1:22 remaining and the Tigers held on for the 66-53 triumph.

9:49 2nd | Princeton 61, Harvard 42

The Tigers lead by 19 after @zachmartini5587 connects on the three!

??: https://t.co/1Rt45Y4Ke9 #MakeShots ???? pic.twitter.com/nxHjuwG04H
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) February 24, 2024

Up Next
The Tigers face Dartmouth (5-18, 1-9) at 6 p.m. inside Leede Arena in Hanover, New Hampshire.