M. Hoops loses to Princeton, finish fourth in Ivy League

Cleveland, Ohio In a game that was not the usual grind-it-out, defensive struggle between these two, Princeton beat Penn, 86-73. The Quakers (12-14, 8-6 Ivy League) played pretty well in their final game of the season, as revealed by a look at the final statistics. They shot 50 percent from the floor. They committed only 10 turnovers. Penn had four players reach double figures in scoring -- an occurrence that had signalled victory seven previous times this season. The problem was Princeton simply did everything better than the Quakers. Five Tigers scored in double digits, and as a team they shot 60 percent from the field -- 50 percent from behind the three-point line. "This is a special team they have," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "They're filled with confidence, and obviously they should be. They've got the perfect blend of experience and youth." Princeton's performance might be considered flukish, except that it put on a similar display in its first win over the Quakers this year, a 74-59 win at the Palestra in February. In that game, the Tigers shot 76.2 percent in the second half to blow open a tight game. No second-half run was necessary last night at Jadwin Gym. Princeton (24-3, 14-0) took control of the game early, and although the Quakers were never out of it, they never seriously threatened to take the lead. Helped out by a trio of early three-pointers, the Tigers jumped out to a 15-6 lead six minutes into the game. Penn answered with a 10-4 run, sparked by a four-point play from Jed Ryan and two driving layups from Garett Kreitz. But Princeton responded with another run, this one 14-2 over four and a half minutes. It put the Tigers up 33-18 with five minutes left in the half, on the way to a 40-30 halftime lead. Key to Princeton's streak late in the half was the play of backup center Jesse Rosenfeld. Starter Steve Goodrich struggles throughout the game, finishing with 10 points in only 21 minutes. But Rosenfeld can off the bench and scored seven quick points over five minutes in the first half. The senior finished with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting in just 19 minutes of action. "He's been terrific all year," Tigers coach Bill Carmody said of Rosenfeld. "The offense seems to run a bit better when he's in. When he's in there, guys cut harder." Princeton gradually continued to build its lead as the second half opened, eventually holding a 56-39 advantage with 12:35 left in the game. Nine straight points by Ryan and Paul Romanczuk helped trim the Quakers' deficit to 10 points. And with 6:16 left, a Kreitz free throw moved Penn to within 63-54. But the Red and Blue could move no closer, and two straight Princeton threes gave the Tigers a comfortable lead the rest of the way. Penn managed just 10 three-point shots for the entire game, well off its average of 20.8 per contest. Kreitz, who had launched 228 trey this season, managed only one attempt from behind the arc. Kreitz responded by driving to the basket effectively, but the Quakers usually have to make more than four three to win. "We knew Sydney Johnson was going to guard [Kreitz]," Dunphy said. "We ran a couple of sets where we thought there was no way [Johnson] was going to know where to be, and he was. He's got that sixth sense." So while the Tigers cut down the nets to celebrate their perfect season and turned toward the NCAA Tournament, the Quakers were left to consider this season and wonder how much they have to improve to win the league next year. "I think we played some good games the last five games," Dunphy said. "I'm pleased at how far we've come, but we've still got a ways to go." Penn will return everybody next season, but Princeton will only lose Johnson and Rosenfeld from its regular rotation. The gap between the two teams were apparent last night. "I think we're close," Kreitz said. "But not as close as we want to be."

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