Men's Basketball Secures Season Sweep Of Harvard With 76-71 Victory

Friday, February 21

Princeton, N.J.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

17-8,6-4Ivy League

Harvard

9-14,4-6Ivy League

Harvard

Princeton

Men's Basketball Secures Season Sweep Of Harvard With 76-71 Victory

February 21, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton University men's basketball team shot a season-high 58.8% from the field in a 76-71 victory over Harvard Friday night inside Jadwin Gymnasium, as the Tigers secured the season sweep over the Crimson.

Princeton has now won eight-straight games over Harvard and remains undefeated against the Crimson since the start of the 2021-22 season.

With the victory over Harvard, Franklin C. Cappon-Edward C. Green '40 Head Coach Mitch Henderson earned his 249th career win. He's now one win away from tying Franklin C. "Cappy" Cappy Cappon, who has 250 career victories, as the second-winningest coach in program history.

"We had a great week of practice leading up to this. Offensively we were all moving and clicking, that got me easy looks."

Hear from @xaivianlee after his 25-point night in the Tigers' win over the Crimson! #MakeShots ???? pic.twitter.com/vuzNe9lTxJ
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) February 22, 2025

Junior Xaivian Lee recorded a team-high 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting, a game-high six assists and six rebounds. Lee brought his career scoring total to 1058 points, which ranks No. 31 in program history for most points. Additionally, Lee's 132 assists in the 2024-25 season rank No. 5 in school history.

Senior Blake Peters scored 14 points on 4-for-9 shooting from three and 2-for-2 shooting from the free throw line, while freshman CJ Happy added nine points on 4-for-6 shooting. Junior Caden Pierce finished with nine points, a game-high nine rebounds, five assists and two steals while senior Philip Byriel and sophomore Jackson Hicke scored eight points each.

Peters got off to a hot start, as he connected on a pair of three-pointers that put Princeton ahead, 10-7, with 15:08 left in the half. Harvard crept ahead with 6:53 on the clock, but a three-point play by Hicke followed by a Happy layup put the Tigers back in front, 24-21, with 5:44 left in the half.

Happy made his presence felt, with a layup, a three-pointer and pull-up jumper putting Princeton ahead seven, 31-25, with 3:26 on the clock. The Tigers closed the half out strong, at 1:55, Peters' fourth three-pointer led a 7-0 run that Princeton up, 41-27 and Princeton would take a 41-29 advantage into halftime.

Harvard chipped away early in the second and narrowed the deficit to eight, 53-45, with 13:26 left to play. A Hicke three-pointer with 13:11 remaining ignited a 9-0 run that saw the Tigers surge ahead, 62-45, at 9:20 after a layup by sophomore Dalen Davis. The Crimson would again make it a single figure game with 2:45 on the clock, but a step-back three-pointer by Lee put Princeton back up 11, 72-61, with 2:19 left to play. Princeton was able to hold off Harvard from there, 76-72.

Up Next
The Tigers host Dartmouth (12-11, 6-4) tomorrow at 8 p.m. inside Jadwin Gymnasium.