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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
14-4,3-0Ivy League
Columbia
11-5,0-3Ivy League
Men’s Basketball Comes Back From 20 Down To Overcome Columbia, 71-67
January 20, 2025 | Men's Basketball
PRINCETON, N.J. – For the second game in a row, a late three-pointer by junior Xaivian Lee propelled the Princeton University men's basketball team to victory as the Tigers came back from 20 points down to overcome Columbia, 71-67, Monday afternoon inside Jadwin Gymnasium.
Lee connected on the game-winning shot with 0:10 remaining and the Tigers down 67-66; in almost identical fashion to his game-winner at Dartmouth on Jan. 18, Lee drilled a step-back three-pointer with the game on the line before senior Blake Peters sank a pair of free throws in the final second to seal the 71-67 win. Princeton was now won three times in 2024-25 when trailing by 15 or more in the second half.
Xaivian Lee does it again!#MakeShots ???? | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/RV54FXU2Ow
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) January 20, 2025
The Tigers have also won 11 -straight games against the Lions, last losing on Feb. 17, 2018.CLUTCH!@xaivianlee connects on the three and puts the Tigers in front, 69-67, with 10 seconds remaining!#MakeShots ???? pic.twitter.com/K3Z8jxgHY8
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) January 20, 2025
Junior Caden Pierce recorded a game-high 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting from the field, 3-for-5 from three and 2-for-2 from the free throw line along with a game-high nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. Lee finished with 19 points, a game-high nine rebounds, a game-high nine assists and two steals. Pierce now ranks No. 7 all-time in program history for most rebounds with 623, moving past Andrew Rimol '74.
Peters contributed 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting along with eight rebounds, tying his career-high. Thanks to his four three-pointers, Peters moved up to No. 8 all-time at Princeton for most three-point field goals, bringing his total to 164. He moved past Sydney Johnson '97, who ended his career with 162.
An early 14-0 run by the Lions put Columbia ahead, 14-2, with 15:56 left in the half. Shortly after, a three-pointer followed by a pull-up jumper by Lee made it a single figure contest with 9:25 on the clock, 18-10. Columbia would soon extend its advantage back out to double digits and took a 33-15 lead into halftime.
Senior Philip Byriel opened the second half with two-straight three-pointers, making it 33-21 with 19:12 remaining as the Tigers aimed to pull off another comeback victory. A Pierce three-pointer narrowed the deficit to 10, 44-34, with 12:10 on the clock but a 9-0 Lions run extended Columbia's lead back out to 53-34 at 10:10.
With 8:20 on the clock and Princeton trailing 55-36 the Tigers' offense erupted. A layup by Lee followed by a Peters three-pointer made it a 10-point game with 4:49 left to play, 61-51. With 4:10 remaining, a pair of Pierce free throws led a 7-0 run that was capped by a three-point shot by freshman Jack Stanton at 3:09 that made it a 62-58 contest.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Peters put Princeton in front, 66-65, with 0:51 left to play, but a tip-in by Columbia with 0:42 remaining gave Columbia a 67-66 lead. With 0:10 remaining, Lee buried a step-back three pointer that saw the Tigers jump ahead, 69-67, before Peters' free throws saw the game end with a final score of 71-67.
Up Next
The Tigers host Cornell (10-6, 2-1) inside Jadwin Gymnasium at 2 p.m. on Jan. 25.
