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Saturday, March 8
Princeton, N.J.
2:00 PM
Princeton University
19-10,8-6Ivy League
95
vs
71
Penn
8-19,4-10Ivy League
1
2
F
Penn
34
37
71
Princeton
47
48
95
Men’s Basketball Clinches Spot In Ivy Madness With 95-71 Triumph Over Penn
March 08, 2025 | Men's Basketball
PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton University men's basketball team clinched a spot in the Ivy League Tournament for the seventh time in its eighth year of existence Saturday afternoon with a 95-71 triumph over the University of Pennsylvania on Senior Day. The Tigers have now qualified for Ivy Madness for six consecutive seasons.
Additionally, Franklin C. Cappon-Edward C. Green '40 Head Coach Mitch Henderson became the second-winningest coach in Princeton men's basketball history with the victory over the Quakers. Henderson earned his 251st victory as head coach at Princeton, and now only trails Naismith Hall of Fame member Pete Carril on the Tigers' all-time list. Carril ended his career with 514 victories.
Junior Xaivian Lee recorded the second triple double in program history, which was also the second of his career with 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field and 4-for-7 from three along with a game-high 12 assists and a game-high 10 rebounds. Lee moved into the program's top-20 in scoring with 1,140 points, which ranks No. 18, and his 157 assists in the 2024-25 season rank No. 2 on the Tigers' single season list. Only Tosan Evbuomwan '23 and William Ryan '84 have recorded more assists in a season than Lee, with each having handed out 161.
Senior Blake Peters had a memorable Senior Day, scoring a career and game-high 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the field and 7-for-12 from three, with his nine made field goals and seven made three-pointers being career-highs. Peters also became the seventh player in program history to make 200 career three-pointers.
Freshman CJ Happy added 14 points, four rebounds and three assists while junior Caden Pierce finished with 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting, five rebounds and two steals.
As a team, Princeton shot a season-high 59.3% (35-for-59) from the field, and a season-high 54.5% (18-for-33) from three.
With 16:49 on the clock, a three-pointer by Happy ignited a 12-0 run that saw the Tigers surge ahead, 16-6, with 13:47 left in the half. Happy's impact was felt early, having scored eight points inside the first seven minutes. Penn was able to battle back and make it a 33-29 game with 5:12 remaining in the half, but three-pointers by Pierce, sophomore Dalen Davis and Lee along with a Lee layup saw Princeton take a 47-34 advantage into halftime.
Princeton stayed hot in the second half, with three-pointer by Happy putting the Tigers ahead with 14:34 left to play, 58-40. At 7:27, Happy, double-teamed, found a cutting Pierce who threw down a powerful two-handed dunk that ignited a 10-0 run that put Princeton in front by 26 with 5:27 on the clock, 83-57. A jumper by sophomore Ryan Duncan extended the Tigers' advantage to 29, 94-65, with 1:42 left to play and Princeton would hold on for the 95-71 triumph.
Up Next
The No. 4 seed Tigers face No. 1 seed Yale (20-7, 13-1) in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament inside the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, Rhode Island, at 11 a.m. on Mar. 15. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
Additionally, Franklin C. Cappon-Edward C. Green '40 Head Coach Mitch Henderson became the second-winningest coach in Princeton men's basketball history with the victory over the Quakers. Henderson earned his 251st victory as head coach at Princeton, and now only trails Naismith Hall of Fame member Pete Carril on the Tigers' all-time list. Carril ended his career with 514 victories.
Princeton's victory over Penn tied the all-time series between the two programs for the first time since 1905, as it now stands at 126-126."All week we approached practice the best we had all season, we had a lot of energy. I'm really proud of the way we came out today."
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) March 8, 2025
Hear from @ballerblake34 after his career-high 25 points in the Tigers' triumph over Penn!#MakeShots ???? pic.twitter.com/YqOHaFhyGu
Junior Xaivian Lee recorded the second triple double in program history, which was also the second of his career with 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field and 4-for-7 from three along with a game-high 12 assists and a game-high 10 rebounds. Lee moved into the program's top-20 in scoring with 1,140 points, which ranks No. 18, and his 157 assists in the 2024-25 season rank No. 2 on the Tigers' single season list. Only Tosan Evbuomwan '23 and William Ryan '84 have recorded more assists in a season than Lee, with each having handed out 161.
Senior Blake Peters had a memorable Senior Day, scoring a career and game-high 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the field and 7-for-12 from three, with his nine made field goals and seven made three-pointers being career-highs. Peters also became the seventh player in program history to make 200 career three-pointers.
Freshman CJ Happy added 14 points, four rebounds and three assists while junior Caden Pierce finished with 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting, five rebounds and two steals.
As a team, Princeton shot a season-high 59.3% (35-for-59) from the field, and a season-high 54.5% (18-for-33) from three.
With 16:49 on the clock, a three-pointer by Happy ignited a 12-0 run that saw the Tigers surge ahead, 16-6, with 13:47 left in the half. Happy's impact was felt early, having scored eight points inside the first seven minutes. Penn was able to battle back and make it a 33-29 game with 5:12 remaining in the half, but three-pointers by Pierce, sophomore Dalen Davis and Lee along with a Lee layup saw Princeton take a 47-34 advantage into halftime.
Princeton stayed hot in the second half, with three-pointer by Happy putting the Tigers ahead with 14:34 left to play, 58-40. At 7:27, Happy, double-teamed, found a cutting Pierce who threw down a powerful two-handed dunk that ignited a 10-0 run that put Princeton in front by 26 with 5:27 on the clock, 83-57. A jumper by sophomore Ryan Duncan extended the Tigers' advantage to 29, 94-65, with 1:42 left to play and Princeton would hold on for the 95-71 triumph.
Up Next
The No. 4 seed Tigers face No. 1 seed Yale (20-7, 13-1) in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament inside the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, Rhode Island, at 11 a.m. on Mar. 15. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
Team Stats
Penn
PU
FG%
.491
.593
3FG%
.353
.545
FT%
.846
.700
RB
26
30
TO
11
9
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
9
3FGM
7
FTM
0
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
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/ Men's BasketballF
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