Clutch Hicke Free Throws Push Men’s Basketball Past Penn, 61-59

Friday, February 7

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

16-6,5-2Ivy League

Penn

6-14,2-5Ivy League

Princeton

Penn

Photo by: Caean Couto

Clutch Hicke Free Throws Push Men’s Basketball Past Penn, 61-59

February 07, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – With the game tied and under one second remaining, sophomore Jackson Hicke drained a pair of free throws that pushed the Princeton University men's basketball team past the University of Pennsylvania Friday night at the Palestra, 61-59.

In addition to the win being Princeton's 12th straight over the Quakers, it also moved the all-time series to 126-125, setting the stage for the Tigers to tie it on Mar. 8. Junior Xaivian Lee also become the 38th member of the 1,000 Point Club at Princeton in the victory over the Quakers and now has 1,003 career points.

"To feel we had that support in a tough game like that is huge. We really appreciate these guys and they do more than they know for us."

After making the game-winning free throws, hear what @JacksonHicke had to say!#MakeShots ???? pic.twitter.com/lsGxdb73JC
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) February 8, 2025

Freshman CJ Happy recorded a game-high 13 points along with a career-high eight rebounds, while Lee finished with 11 points, a game-high nine rebounds and a game-high four assists. Lee's 118 assists in the 2024-25 season rank No. 9 all-time in program history for most assists in a season. Along with the game-winning free throws, Hicke scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds.

Princeton opened the game with an 11-0 run that included a Pierce three-pointer, a pair of Happy three-pointers along with an alley-oop from Lee to freshman Malik Abdullahi. Penn was able to battle back and narrow the deficit to three with 12:17 left in the half, 13-10. Happy's hot shooting continued, as his third three-pointer of the contest put Princeton ahead, 18-12, at 10:03. Penn trimmed Princeton's lead down to three at 22-19 with 5:03 remaining in the half, but a senior Blake Peters three-pointer followed by a junior Caden Pierce layup gave the Tigers an eight-point advantage, 27-19, with 3:17 on the clock. Princeton would take a 31-24 lead into halftime.

A pair of free throws by Lee extended the Tigers' advantage to 11, 37-26, with 17:23 left to play, and Lee's milestone basket, a three-pointer, kept the Tigers ahead by five, 47-42, at 11:30. The Quakers tied it up at 47-47 with 9:58 remaining, but a three-pointer then a layup by Hicke helped Princeton extend its lead back out to six, 56-50, with 5:57 on the clock.

Penn took a 58-56 advantage with 0:53 remaining, but a three-pointer by sophomore Dalen Davis put Princeton back in front, 59-58, at 0:33. The Quakers split a pair of free throws with 0:19 left to play which tied it up at 59-59, but with less than one second to go, Hicke's clutch free throws sealed a 61-59 Tiger victory.

0:33 2nd | Princeton 59, Penn 58@DalenDavis2 knocks down the three and puts the Tigers back in front!

??: https://t.co/7SqoJuecBD #MakeShots ???? pic.twitter.com/6kcIS3k7nP
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) February 8, 2025