Men's Basketball Opens Ivy Play With 68-64 Triumph At Harvard

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Junior Xaivian Lee exceeded the 20-point mark for the fifth time in 2024-25 as the Princeton University men's basketball team opened Ivy League play with a 68-64 triumph over Harvard inside Lavietes Pavilion Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers have now won seven-straight games against the Crimson and remain undefeated against Harvard since the start of the 2021-22 season.

NBA scouts pulled up to watch Princeton's Xaivian Lee at Harvard today ??

?? 22 PTS
?? 3-5 3PT
?? 3 REB
?? 2 AST@PrincetonMBB @xaivianlee pic.twitter.com/6tw4yLtsZK
— SLAM University (@slam_university) January 11, 2025

"We did a good job today of moving without the ball and it got me open looks. It's easy to score when we're all moving like that."

Hear what @xaivianlee had to say after finishing with a game-high 22 points in the Tigers' victory over Harvard!#MakeShots ???? pic.twitter.com/v1Nyx5ax70
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) January 11, 2025

Lee recorded a game-high 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field and 3-for-5 from three along with three rebounds and two assists. Junior Caden Pierce added nine points on 4-for-7 shooting, a team-high eight rebounds and a game-high four assists, and sophomore Dalen Davis finished with nine points, four rebounds and a team-high three steals. As a team, the Tigers out-rebounded Harvard, 37-30.

The game began as a back-and-forth battle, but a Lee three-pointer followed by a freshman Malik Abdullahi layup pushed Princeton in front, 11-6, with 14:35 on the clock. The Crimson would bounce back, using a 6-0 run to surge ahead, 20-17, with 6:06 left in the half.

Princeton showed its resilience late in the half, with a layup by senior Philip Byriel then a three-pointer by Lee putting the Tigers back in front, 29-28, at 2:47. Pierce banked in a floater before time expired and Princeton took a 37-33 advantage into halftime.

A three-pointer by Davis put Princeton up 43-38 with 16:36 remaining, and the Tigers would soon extend their lead to eight after a reverse layup by Lee made it 48-40 with 12:56 on the clock. With 10:26 left to play Princeton extended its advantage to double-figures, 55-45, following a Lee three-pointer.

The Crimson were able to narrow the deficit back down to five at 58-53 with 7:14 on the clock, but layups by Lee and Pierce followed by a pair of Davis free throws made it a double-figure game again, 64-53, at 2:35. Refusing to quit, Harvard made it a 66-62 contest with 0:24 on the clock, but a pair of clutch free throws by Davis along with a late block by sophomore Jackson Hicke sealed the 68-64 victory for Princeton.

Up Next
Ivy League play continues in Hanover, New Hampshire, inside Leede Arena against Dartmouth (7-7) at 2 p.m. on Jan. 18.

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