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Saturday, January 18
Hanover, N.H.
2:00 PM
Princeton University
13-4,2-0Ivy League
81
at
80
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Dartmouth
7-8,1-1Ivy League
1
2
F
Princeton
38
43
81
Dartmouth
41
39
80
Xaivian Lee’s Game-Winner Pushes Men’s Basketball Past Dartmouth, 81-80
January 18, 2025 | Men's Basketball
HANOVER, N.H. – A late three-pointer by junior Xaivian Lee pushed the Princeton University men's basketball team past Dartmouth, 81-80, Saturday afternoon inside Leede Arena in a contest that saw Lee record a season-high 33 points, a figure that tied his career-high.
Despite trailing by six points with just over 15 minutes remaining, the Tigers overcame the Big Green and moved to 2-0 in Ivy League play.
Lee, who has scored 30 points or more twice this season and four times in his career, had his sixth game with at least 20 points in 2024-25. He led the game with 33 points on 12-for-19 shooting from the field, 3-for-5 from three and 6-for-7 from the free throw line while also adding eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.
Junior Caden Pierce recorded his 25th career double-double with 19 points on 8-for-16 shooting, a game-high 12 rebounds, a game and career-high seven assists, a game-high three steals and a game-high two blocks. Pierce also moved up to No. 8 all-time at Princeton for most rebounds, bringing his career total to 614. He passed Spencer Weisz '17, who ended his career with 605.
Sophomore Dalen Davis added 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting, four rebounds and two assists.
The Tigers and Big Green traded baskets to open the game, but a senior Blake Peters layup with 16:38 remaining in the half ignited a 7-0 run that put Princeton ahead, 12-6, with 14:09 on the clock. Dartmouth soon responded with an 8-0 run and jumped ahead, 17-15, at 12:14. Five-straight Lee points would put Princeton back in front with 10:20 left in the half, 23-20.
Dartmouth would gain momentum as the half went on and went on a 7-0 run that gave it a 36-31 advantage with 3:15 remaining in the half. Back-to-back Lee layups made it a one point-game, 36-35, at 2:19 but a late 5-0 run by the Big Green saw Dartmouth take a 41-38 advantage into the half.
As shown all season, there was no quit in the Tigers. The deficit was narrowed to one with 14:37 remaining, 46-45, after a Davis three-pointer and a Pierce layup. Princeton would soon gain a 50-49 advantage at 12:49, after another Davis three-pointer then a mid-range jumper by Lee.
Princeton's offense erupted in the later stages of the half; Pierce drained a three-pointer with 8:38 left to play that led a 10-0 run that included a pair of Lee layups along with a Lee three-pointer, that put the Tigers ahead with 6:44 remaining, 67-59.
The game descended into a back-and-forth battle; a Pierce layup gave the Tigers a 78-73 lead with 1:34 remaining but a 7-0 Dartmouth run put the Big Green up with 0:21 left to play, 80-78. With 0:06 on the clock and Lee isolated on a defender, he connected on a step-back three-pointer that pushed the Tigers ahead, 81-80, capped Lee's 33-point afternoon and sealed the victory for Princeton.
Up Next
The Tigers host Columbia (11-4, 0-2) at 2 p.m. on Jan 20 inside Jadwin Gymnasium.
Despite trailing by six points with just over 15 minutes remaining, the Tigers overcame the Big Green and moved to 2-0 in Ivy League play.
.@xaivianlee CALLED GAME!
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) January 18, 2025
He finishes with 33 points and the Tigers take down Dartmouth, 81-80!#MakeShots ???? | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/rWkGe8D0jV
CLUTCH. @xaivianlee drills the game-winner against Dartmouth! #MakeShots ???? | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/rd7RFN7ggf
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) January 18, 2025
Lee, who has scored 30 points or more twice this season and four times in his career, had his sixth game with at least 20 points in 2024-25. He led the game with 33 points on 12-for-19 shooting from the field, 3-for-5 from three and 6-for-7 from the free throw line while also adding eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.
Junior Caden Pierce recorded his 25th career double-double with 19 points on 8-for-16 shooting, a game-high 12 rebounds, a game and career-high seven assists, a game-high three steals and a game-high two blocks. Pierce also moved up to No. 8 all-time at Princeton for most rebounds, bringing his career total to 614. He passed Spencer Weisz '17, who ended his career with 605.
Sophomore Dalen Davis added 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting, four rebounds and two assists.
The Tigers and Big Green traded baskets to open the game, but a senior Blake Peters layup with 16:38 remaining in the half ignited a 7-0 run that put Princeton ahead, 12-6, with 14:09 on the clock. Dartmouth soon responded with an 8-0 run and jumped ahead, 17-15, at 12:14. Five-straight Lee points would put Princeton back in front with 10:20 left in the half, 23-20.
Dartmouth would gain momentum as the half went on and went on a 7-0 run that gave it a 36-31 advantage with 3:15 remaining in the half. Back-to-back Lee layups made it a one point-game, 36-35, at 2:19 but a late 5-0 run by the Big Green saw Dartmouth take a 41-38 advantage into the half.
As shown all season, there was no quit in the Tigers. The deficit was narrowed to one with 14:37 remaining, 46-45, after a Davis three-pointer and a Pierce layup. Princeton would soon gain a 50-49 advantage at 12:49, after another Davis three-pointer then a mid-range jumper by Lee.
Princeton's offense erupted in the later stages of the half; Pierce drained a three-pointer with 8:38 left to play that led a 10-0 run that included a pair of Lee layups along with a Lee three-pointer, that put the Tigers ahead with 6:44 remaining, 67-59.
The game descended into a back-and-forth battle; a Pierce layup gave the Tigers a 78-73 lead with 1:34 remaining but a 7-0 Dartmouth run put the Big Green up with 0:21 left to play, 80-78. With 0:06 on the clock and Lee isolated on a defender, he connected on a step-back three-pointer that pushed the Tigers ahead, 81-80, capped Lee's 33-point afternoon and sealed the victory for Princeton.
Up Next
The Tigers host Columbia (11-4, 0-2) at 2 p.m. on Jan 20 inside Jadwin Gymnasium.
Team Stats
PU
Dart
FG%
.470
.456
3FG%
.429
.455
FT%
.875
.900
RB
37
30
TO
9
10
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
33
FGM
12
3FGM
3
FTM
6
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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/ Men's BasketballReflections from the Princeton Athletics Class of 2025
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