Nov 25, 2000: Towson (2-1) @ Princeton (1-2)
- PRIN's 4/5 rotation is composed of two 7-footers, and another who is at 6-10
Start of 1st halfDespite PRIN's twin towers anchoring their 1-2-2 zone, C Byron Hardy (6 pts) and C Alex DeMod (5 pts) have done well in challenging them early in the game. PRIN finding it difficult to pass the ball to their big men on offense, forcing them to take low percentage shots from the outside.
Up 18-9, 13:00. 3 consecutive turn overs cut our lead to 11 (from a high of 15); I reminded the team to not lose their concentration. PRIN stayed close, as we started to miss our shots also.
Halftime, Up 34-28.
Key stats / Notes (Halftime)- 2nd chance pts: TOW 11, PRIN 2; a big part of this is our 9 off rebs (5 by C Alex DeMond)
- Fast break pts: TOW 8, PRIN 4; this is key because despite of our 10 turn overs (+4 differential), PRIN had few chances to score on transition
Start of 2nd half3 turn overs, and 0-3 FG to start the 2nd half. I had to burn an early timeout, for my team to regroup.
Tied at 34, 17:54. We get a basket after our time out, but PRIN momentarily took the lead after scoring 4 unanswered. SG Haven Wilkerson's 3 pt shot spearheaded a 9-2 run, but PRIN hit some clutch baskets to keep the game close.
Up 45-44, 11:53. C Alex DeMond (12 pts, 9 rebs) continues to grind his way in battling PRIN's big men. However, PRIN just hit only their 2nd 3pt shot of the game, to break the tie.
Down 48-51, 7:45.
We cut the lead to 1. After that, we missed at least 7 consecutive shots, even those we normally make at the post. On the other end, PRIN had a FG and 2 FTs.
Down 50-55, 4:27. Teams traded baskets. After we made a stop, C Byron Hardy scored on an off rebound put back.
Down 54-57, 2:58. We made another defensive stop. We dribbled to the front court and called a timeout.
Down 54-57, 2:29.
TOW: We go to C Alex DeMond on the low post. DeMond powers his way to get another inside basket.
Down 56-57, 2:19.
PRIN: They miss a 3. I elected not to call a timeout
TOW: SG Haven Wilkerson gets the pass from beyond the arc. He dribbles closer, pulls up a medium-range jumper. Miss. Out of bounds. Our ball. We inbound. This time we go back to C Alex DeMond. DeMond goes strong again. Shot block by PRIN. We recover the ball. SF Aaron Hale drives strong. Miss. Out of bounds. Ball still stays with us. We had 3 opportunities to reclaim the lead. Timeout.
Down 56-57, 1:39.
TOW: Our 4th opportunity to get the lead. We go to the other side. C Byron Hardy gets the ball on the low post. Hardy is a bit far from the basket from where he normally operates. Hardy still puts up a short jumper. Hardy's shot is in!
Up 58-57, 1:21.
PRIN: They are not calling a timeout. We'll go m2m defense. We're playing good denial defense on the post against PRIN's big men. Their 4 gets the pass from way outside the arc. He was forced to make a pass. We get a steal!. Timeout.
Up 58-57, 0:48.
TOW: I told the team to waste some time off the clock. SG Haven Wilkerson gets the pass. He attempts to drive, but took too many steps. Oh geez, what a bad possession. PRIN called a timeout.
Up 58-57, 0:42.
PRIN: As what any "smart" AI coach will do, PRIN burned all thier remaining timeouts, before play resumed. Their 4 commits his 2nd consecutive turn over, this time he traveled.
TOW: We have no more timeouts. No need to take a shot, as PRIN may likely foul intentionally. PRIN not fouling. We pass the ball around. They stole the ball! 0:11 left
PRIN: We'll stick with m2m defense. I was shouting that we foul, as we only have 2 team fouls. We did give up a foul. 3rd team foul, 0:07. 4th team foul, 0:06. 5th team foul, 0:05. Man, that game clock is ticking so slowly. PRIN able to avoid getting a fouled. They put up a hurried 3. Miss. We escape a close one.
Final Score: Towson - 58, Princeton - 57Box Scores[INDENT]Hardy 20, 14, 0 (*)
DeMond 16, 11, 1
Wilkerson 9, 2, 6, 6 tos
Hale 7, 3, 2, 4 tos
Green 4, 3, 0
Martin 2, 3, 1, 4 tos
Weaks 0, 3, 1
Roberson 0, 0, 2
Desmond 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison[INDENT]FG: 39-38%
REB: +12
TO: +9
Pts in paint: +4
2nd chance: +11
Fast break: -2
[/INDENT]
Notes- Both teams played with a lot effort in this game. We had the advantage in rebounds and 2nd chance pts, while PRIN played excellent defense coming up with 5 blks and 10 steals. In the end, we converted our last shot and PRIN missed their last shot; and that was the difference in this game.
- Our 2 starting bigs, C Byron Hardy and C Alex DeMond, carried the team on their backs today. Apart from battling PRIN's big men, they combined to score 62% of our points, and grabbed 64% of our total rebounds. What an effort!