Princeton Keeps Ivy League Tournament Chances Alive With Win Over Dartmouth

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Princeton Basketball

Princeton Men’s Basketball faced off against Dartmouth Saturday night at Jadwin Gym. It was Senior Night for the Tigers and fourth-year guard Amir Bell made the most of it.

Bell passed current Tigers head coach and former Princeton player, Mitch Henderson, for seventh all-time in assists in program history.

Bell also became the 34th player in Princeton Basketball history to surpass 1,000 career points. Junior guard Devin Cannady also tied Gabe Lewullis (Class of ’99) for fourth in three-point makes in program history with 212.

Princeton (12-15, 4-8) came into Saturday night on a seven-game Ivy League losing streak, coming off a tough 72-66 overtime loss to Harvard the previous night.

Once the tip took place the Tigers never looked back on their 64-47 victory over Dartmouth (6-19, 2-10).

It was evident the Tigers wanted to come out aggressively on both ends of the floor as they forced the Big Green into a shot clock violation on their first defensive possession.

The game started stagnant offensively for both teams as no one scored in the first three minutes.

With 16:46 left in the first half Aaron Young finally opened up the lid for the Tigers as he knocked down a three.

Young followed up the next possession with a lay-up to give the Tigers a 5-0 start with 16:16 left in the first half.

Dartmouth was finally able to get on the board at the 14:11 mark with an Adrease Jackson hook shot in the paint.

Princeton’s Bell came down the next possession to knock down another three-point shot for the Tigers to open the game up to an 8-2 start.

The Tigers played stifling defense in the first half playing mainly a match-up zone.

Princeton made Dartmouth run deep into the shot clock numerous times not allowing the Big Green to get the quality of shots they wanted within their offense.

Dartmouth only had eight first-half points until guard Brendan Barry hit two three-point shots in the last 41 seconds including one right before the halftime buzzer.

The Tigers took a 24-14 halftime lead after Barry’s buzzer-beater.

The Tigers came out strong to start the second half as Myles Stephens scored on a post-up followed by a Jerome Desrosiers three-pointer.

The Tigers never trailed in this one playing with an extreme defensive intensity which gave them a commanding 57-28 lead at the 6:54 mark after a Bell made three-pointer.

Head coach Henderson started giving guys playing time off the bench who typically don’t see the court with around 4:30 remaining in the game.

Even with Princeton committing seven fouls by the 11:19 mark and putting Dartmouth into one-and-one, the Big Green never cut the lead by less than 19.

Even with a seven-game Ivy League losing streak, the much-needed win for the Tigers keeps them alive mathematically for the Ivy League Tournament.

Princeton was led by Bell with 17 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.

Stephens had 16 points, six rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Desrosiers chipped in with 11 points and three rebounds.

Dartmouth was led by Barry with 12 points and three rebounds. Jackson had eight points and two blocks. Miles Wright chipped in with three points, eight rebounds, and three steals.

The Tigers are back in action on March 2nd as they take on Brown at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

Postgame Press Conference

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