Ivy Hoops Online writers George “Toothless Tiger” Clark and Rob Browne deliver their respective audio and written reports on Princeton men’a basketball’s 74-67 victory at Hofstra Friday night:
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — No Mitch Henderson, no problem.
Princeton men’s basketball’s leader was ejected eight minutes into Friday night’s contest, but a career-high 26 points and 15 rebounds from Caden Pierce propelled Princeton to a convincing 74-67 victory over Hofstra at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex Friday night.
Following a Pierce travel, Henderson yelled at the lead official and was quickly called for two technical fouls. As the coach headed towards the locker room or the nearby Jersey Mike’s on Hempstead Turnpike, associated head coach Brett MacConnell took over the reins for fourth time in his career.
“I thought he (Henderson) might get one on that moment, was surprised the second one came. Just quickly had to get prepared to coach the team,” MacConnell told Ivy Hoops Online after the contest. “This is the fourth time I’ve been able to do this. It’s made it a little easier. It’s still not easy, but it’s a little bit easier having done it a few times.”
The Pride made of three of four free throws following the ejection and eventually made it a 7-0 run to take a 16-9 lead halfway through the opening frame. The Tigers bounced back with a 13-0 run to make it 24-19, but Hofstra recovered with its own 7-2 streak to tie the game at 26 with 2:31 to go.
After former Penn guard Bryce Washington put the Pride up 29-28 with a three pointer, Pierce hit two free throws to put the Tigers up 30-29 at the break.
Hofstra reclaimed the lead in the opening minutes of the second half, but three pointers by Pierce and Blake Peters, as well as a four-point play by Xaivian Lee, gave Princeton a nine-point advantage, 42-33, at the first media timeout.
The Tigers were in control through much of the second half, but the Pride were able to cut the deficit to five, 65-60, with 1:47 left in regulation. A Pierce “and-one” on the next possession put the game out of reach for good.
In addition to Pierce’s efforts, Lee finished with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Peters ended with 15 points and Allocco added 13.
In the losing effort, Darlinstone Dubar had 18 points, all in the second half, while Jaquan Carlos totaled 11 points and nine assists. Tyler Thomas, a preseason first-team Coastal (rebranded from Colonial) Athletic Association member, ended with 11 points, but only two in the second half.
For Hofstra’s coach, Princeton’s length and quickness resulting in a large number of deflections was a big problem all night long.
“The (Hofstra) offense is just so high-level. When you’re forced to really play exceptional defense. Tyler Thomas is an unbelievable scorer and he finished 4-for-16 tonight,” said MacConnell. “An incredible job starts with Matt Allocco guarding him, but the entire team closed gaps on him, made it a little more crowded for him.
A few takeaways from the evening that started with a tribute from both teams for Princeton’s James Mastaglio (1994-1998), who grew up in nearby Garden City and passed away from cancer on July 25, and ended with MacConnell improving his record to 3-1.
Pierce shows Player of the Year potential
At Ivy League Media Day, Henderson discussed the importance of Pierce as a scorer, facilitator, defender and rebounder. On Friday night, the Pride challenged Pierce and the reining Ivy League Rookie of the Year met his staff’s high expectations.
“We had to live with something, so we wanted to make him beat us,” Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton told reporters after the game. “Unfortunately for us, he did.”
By the end of the first half, the 6’7″ forward already had a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds), scoring from all three levels and forcing Hofstra’s two big men, 6’10” Jacco Fritz and 6’9″ Christian Tomasco, into two fouls apiece.
“Huge performance for Cade. Man, it’s hard to find the words because he’s seen a lot of different coverages, defensively, and different types of matchups,” said MacConnell. “They put bigger guys on him tonight and was (he) asked to do different things than he was asked to do against Rutgers, offensively. Just for him to figure it out as the game went on was really huge.”
Pierce, like Ellie Mitchell on the Princeton women’s team, has a Dennis Rodman-like knack for being in the right spot to rebound over taller opponents. If he can consistently add this type of balanced performance, the Tigers have a good chance at earning back-to-back Ivy titles.
Lee is taking advantage of his opportunity
It’s a challenge for Henderson to replace three starters from last year’s regular season and tournament champions, but Lee’s play over the first few games of the year is making it easier to turn the page.
After leading the Canadian national team in points and assists at the FIBA U19 World Cup this summer, the 6’3″ guard from Toronto appears more confident this year and has solidified his spot running the offense.
On Friday, he was all over the court, frustrating the Pride on both sides of the ball.
“He’s really making good progress in knowing what’s the right shot for us, what’s the right moment in the game and made some really big ones,” MacConnell told IHO. “His evolution is just so key for this team.”
Princeton sn’t much depth, yet
If there is an area of concern, it is outside the solid starting five.
Pierce, Allocco, Lee, Peters and Zach Martini are combining for an average of 34.6 minutes per game in the opening games with most of the limited bench minutes going to underclassmen. On Friday night, there were only three players coming off the bench and they totaled a combined three points and five rebounds.
While Yale’s James Jones and Princeton’s Carla Berube have shown that teams can go far in league play and the NCAA Tournament with a short rotation, it’s preferable to have one with more depth.
For the Tigers, that will come from sophomore guard Jack Scott, first-year point guard Dalen Davis and first-year forward Jacob Huggins, as well as sophomore guard Deven Austin, who is presently out with an injury.
The Sweet 16 confidence continues
The Orange & Black entered the first week of the season as road underdogs at Rutgers and Hofstra and finished with a perfect 2-0 record.
No matter the roster or the lead guy on the bench, everything seems to be going right for a team looking to make its own memories.
“They’re so tough and I think you saw that the past two games here,” according to MacConnell. “The confidence is high. I think the guys are out to prove a little bit that last year’s team, for the good pieces that we lost, we’ve got a couple guys that are OK still. I think they’re really hungry and determined.”