The less said about this one, the better.
Princeton played a “very bad” game against the Hofstra Pride Thursday night, an 87-72 pasting at home. That assessment was made by Mitch Henderson, who also credited the Pride with being “very good”. The Tigers have yet to win at Jadwin Gym this season in four tries.
Princeton held an early 5-4 lead, and briefly got within three early in the second half. The telling numbers on the stat sheet show that Princeton had 15 turnovers, including 11 between Ryan Schwieger and Richmond Aririguzoh. Hofstra blocked seven shots, more than any other Tiger foe this season.
The most depressing element is the squandering of recent momentum built up by the Tigers since the return of Schwieger from the injured list. Princeton’s defense was, quite simply, no match for the very fast and very skillful Hofstra lineup. The Tigers have one more out-of-conference game, a Dec. 29 meeting with Lehigh, before Ivy League hostilities commence on January 4 at The Palestra.
Hofstra’s Eli Pemberton built a compelling case to make the Tigers’ All-Opponent team. He canned 27 points on nine field goals and 7-for-8 from the free throw line in 39 minutes. Princeton’s lone bright spot was Jaelin Llewellyn who notched 22 in 37 minutes. The usually reliable RA went just 2-for-6 from the field.
Have a very happy holiday season.