Toothless Tiger

Princeton men leap over Lafayette, 84-73

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Prior to the start of this afternoon’s game at Lafayette, Princeton coach Mitch Henderson was asked to assess his team’s 7-3 start to this season.

“If you told me we would win seven of the first 10, I would have been pleased, to say the least,” Henderson replied.

His team would reach 8-3 after dispatching Fran O’Hanlon’s Leopards, 81-63. Lafayette dropped to 2-8, including losses to Penn, Cornell, and the Tigers. Columbia’s woes are clearly shown by its loss at home to Lafayette, 73-50.

This game was valuable to the Tigers for several reasons, but none was more important than the fact that they would have to find a way to win without much offensive production from their go-to guy this season, Tosan Evbuomwan. When the opening tip was easily controlled by the Leopards’ Neal Quinn, a 7-foot junior from Allendale, N.J., Henderson realized that Evbuomwan might have his hands full with an opponent 4 feet taller and 40 pounds heavier.

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Princeton men best Bucknell, 82-69

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Mitch Henderson’s Tigers squared off against the Bucknell Bison Tuesday night at Jadwin Gym. The Tigers entered the game as solid 12.5-point favorites. Bucknell came in at 2-7, a dreary start to the season. They lost at home to Penn by five points and on the road to Hofstra by 19.

The Tigers have been up and down of late, struggling somewhat on defense. But Henderson believes the stirring overtime win last week against Drexel may serve as a tonic for his club.

In hoping for something of breather, Henderson got his wish tonight as the Tigers cruised to an 82-69 win.

Princeton seized the momentum early and held it throughout the game. Princeton established a double-digit lead in the first five minutes, allowing Henderson to use an entire platoon of players. Before the proceedings ended, he would put 16 bodies on the floor. The first half ended with the Tigers firmly grasping a 13-point lead, 45-32.

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Evbuomwan shines, pushes Princeton men past Drexel in overtime, 81-79

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Heading into Saturday afternoon’s matchup with the Drexel Dragons at Jadwin Gym, Princeton coach Mitch Henderson was perplexed.

His club’s most recent outings against Monmouth, Fairleigh Dickinson and Hofstra have raised a degree of concern after a surprisingly good start to the season. His team’s defense has been too generous, yielding 76 in a road loss at Monmouth, 79 in a close win at home against FDU and 81 in a loss at Hofstra. The Hofstra loss was particularly galling because the Tigers surrendered 50 in the first half.

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Princeton women triumph at No. 22 Florida Gulf Coast for first win over ranked opponent in 43 years

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The Princeton women made history Wednesday evening at Alico Arena, home of the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. The Tigers shot down the high-flying No. 22 Eagles, 58-55. It was the first win for a Tiger team against a ranked opponent since 1978.

The Eagles entered the game with a record of 63-6 since the start of the 2019-20 season, coming in at 7-0 on the year:

If you follow Ivy Hoops Online’s coverage of the Tigers, you know that we concentrate on coach Carla Berube’s commitment to defense, particularly the single-digit quarters the defense yields.

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Princeton men fend off Fairleigh Dickinson, 89-79

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The big question facing the Tigers as they squared off against in-state rival Fairleigh Dickinson was the status of Tosan Evbuomwan, their most reliable front court player. Tosan missed Princeton’s last outing a loss at Monmouth on Thanksgiving Eve, due to injury. His presence might have spelled the difference in a winnable game lost in the final 10 minutes of play.

Henderson had scouted FDU, who came into Jadwin having lost all four of their starts this season. His conclusion was that his team would have to play very well, and certainly better than it had in West Long Branch, if it was to succeed against a gritty FDU squad.

Evbuomwan was able to play and, in fact, turned in one of his better performances tonight. As it turned out the Tigers needed career scoring highs from three players, including Evbuomwan, to hold off FDU, 89-79, in a very exciting college basketball game.

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Princeton women maul Maine, 82-43

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The Tiger women opened the lone doubleheader on the schedule Sunday with a mashing of the Maine Black Bears, 82-43.

Princeton games usually feature a fast start defensively. Today’s effort fits nicely into that pattern, as the Tigers once again held an opponent to single digits over the span of an entire quarter of play.

At the end of the first quarter, the Tigers had sprinted to a 17-4 lead. For all intents, this one was over. For the season, the Tigers have outscored the opposition by 42 points in the opening period.

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Princeton men lay a turkey egg in 76-64 loss at Monmouth

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On Thanksgiving Eve, the Princeton men traveled to the Jersey Shore to play the Monmouth Hawks in West Long Branch. This in-state rivalry has developed into an interesting and mostly competitive affair in the previous decade.

Sadly, for Tiger fans, this game was neither interesting nor competitive, particularly in the second half.

Although the Tigers prevailed in a back-and-forth first half, 46-39, the Hawks seized the momentum in the final minutes, closing the period on a 9-2 run.

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Princeton women bounce back to stymie Temple, 59-41

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The big question for Tiger fans as their team took the court to face the Temple Owls in Philadelphia Tuesday night was the status of captain and team leader Abby Meyers. A leg injury kept Meyers on the bench in the final period of Saturday’s nine-point loss at Rhode Island, after a career-best 23 points. Thankfully, Abby was in the starting lineup against the Owls, suffering no ill effects.

Carla Berube’s quintet exploded out of the blocks, racing to a 15-0 advantage before the Owls could get their gun out of its holster. The first quarter ended with the Tigers up 17-4. Princeton’s fresh legs on defense gave the Tigers another trademark single-digit yield.

Temple found itself in the second stanza, holding the Tigers to 10 points while closing to within 11 at the half, 27-16.

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Princeton men eke out win at Oregon State, 81-80

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The Princeton men traveled across the country to meet Oregon State, winner of last year’s Pac-12 championship and Elite 8 darling. Tiger fans recall the six-year tenure Craig Robinson had as head coach in Corvallis.

The Tigers held the lead for most of Sunday afternoon’s contest. In the end, Princeton managed to survive a late run by the home team, which came from 11 points down in the final five minutes to get within one.
Powered by the best all-around game in the career of senior guard Ethan Wright, Princeton managed an 81-80 victory.

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Princeton women suffer first loss in exactly two years in rock fight at Rhode Island

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The Princeton Tigers took their NCAA-best 25-game winning streak on the road to Rhode Island Saturday.

The result was a disappointing 61-53 loss at the hands of the unbeaten Rams.

The last defeat suffered by the Tigers occurred, ironically, two years ago to the day in overtime at Iowa.

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