Princeton men’s basketball awakens, pounds Portland at the Myrtle Beach Invitational

CONWAY, S.C. – The Princeton men’s basketball team came alive on a bright Sunday morning in South Carolina to rout the University of Portland, 94-67, for seventh place at the Myrtle Beach Invitational.

The win was a welcome relief for Princeton coach Mitch Henderson and his squad after the Tigers had dropped the two previous contests of the tournament to Wright State on Thursday night and Texas State on Friday night at the HBC Arena in Conway, S.C.

The Tigers had to set their alarm clocks for a consolation game that started at 10:30 a.m ET, but the early tip must have suited the three-time defending Ivy League champions (5-3), who exploded for 52 points in the first half and largely put the game away in the first 20 minutes.

Asked after the game what Princeton’s motivation was to win this game, Henderson dryly replied, “Seventh place is better than eighth place.  That’s what I told them.”

The Tigers led wire to wire, a welcome role reversal from the opening game of the tournament against Wright State, which Princeton never led.

Portland (2-5), on the other hand, seemed to have problems dealing with a start time that corresponded to 7:30 a.m. PT.  The Pilots, a member of the West Coast Conference, played sloppily, turning the ball over three times on their first four possessions and 11 times in the first half.  In contrast, the Tigers were virtually flawless, turning the ball over zero times in the first 20 minutes.

“I thought that was everything, no turnovers in the first half,” Henderson said. “That’s been a calling card for us, too.  And that’s the one thing that … we’ve been able to do so far, take care of the ball.”

Caden Pierce, who struggled in the first two games of the tournament, came out on fire for the Tigers. The reigning Ivy League Player of the Year established himself immediately, taking Princeton’s first possession directly to the tin for two points. Moments later, Xaivian Lee rebounded a missed Portland three and found a streaking Pierce to the hoop for a jam.

The Tigers led, 14-5, at the first media timeout. For Princeton, it might have been the best opening five minutes of the season.

The onslaught continued as Pierce reached double digits in less than 17 minutes into the game and led all scorers in the first half with 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.

After the game, Henderson discussed how important it was for Pierce to rebound from his two previous subpar performances.

“We addressed it.  He’s such a heck of a player, maybe processing a lot. But we got him, you know, [the] first play of the game was for him.  He got himself going, got a nice bucket there to start the game, and then made some threes, and he was just terrific. [He] looked like Cade, look like the [Ivy League] Player of the Year, you know. . . Look, he’s 20, like he’s learning on the fly, just like we all are.”

The game took a potentially eventful turn when Lee picked up this third foul with 5:55 to play in the first half.  The superstar point guard was forced to sit for much of the game and scored only two points, his lowest output as a starter in his Princeton career.

Fortunately for the Tigers, other players stepped up in Lee’s absence, especially freshman CJ Happy, who came off the bench to score 16 points, a career high, on 7-for-9 shooting in 19 minutes of playing time.  Henderson was so pleased with Happy’s first half performance, he decided to start him at the beginning of the second half.

“I just really liked the way he was in the first half, and he needs just experience playing against anybody,” explained Henderson. “But I’m pleased, and I think last year we played the same lineup the whole season.  But that’s not gonna be the case with this team.”

With the game largely decided in the opening 20 minutes, Henderson was able to play his bench players for nearly the entire second half as the Tigers extended their lead to over 30 points.

One player who got to see extended action was Darius Gakwasi, a 6-foot-6 senior from Central Catholic High School in Portland, who burned his hometown team on a corner three with 12;25 to play, his first field goal of the season.

Another bright spot for Princeton was the play of Peyton Seals, a 6-foot guard from Wyckoff, N.J. Seals made plays all over the court, scoring seven points, grabbing two rebounds, dishing three assists and making four steals.  The only blemish on the freshman’s day was that his aggressive play resulted in his fouling out late in the game, albeit with the result already determined.

Not to be outdone, freshman Jack Stanton doled out an assist, stole the ball a game-high five times, hauled in three rebounds and scored six points in 19 minutes of play, all career highs.

Taken together, Princeton’s bench players contributed a whopping 52 points, which pleased Henderson.

“It’s great. It’s amazing.  [You] don’t get that often, and haven’t had it once this season.  So, [I] was really happy to see it,” Henderson said.

Overall, this was a much-needed get-right game for a Princeton team that has struggled to put together connected, consistent play for 40 minutes during the first month of the season.

“Man, this was a really informative couple of weeks for us, but especially a couple of days [that were] really informative for us,” Henderson reflected.  “And you know, I’m excited about what we learned from it.  This is a terrific, really well-run tournament, and [I’m] glad that, of course [about] winning today.  But we’ve got some nice pieces, but we really have to figure how we’re going to come together. And this weekend really exposed that for us.”

The Tigers likely will get a chance to gain even more experience for its bench players in its next contest against the Nazareth College Golden Flyers, a Division III program, on November 27 at Jadwin Gymnasium.