GAME ANALYSIS: Experience won the game for Princeton

It is not a novel argument, but it rang true last night. Princeton won in the end because its team is older and has played more minutes on the court together than the Quakers. "Yeah, I think [experience] had a lot to do with it," Carmody said following his Tigers' win over Penn in overtime last night. "Our guys are just older." The clearest example of this was in the personal foul department. Princeton senior Steve Goodrich picked up his fourth personal foul with 13 minutes to play in the game. After sitting on the bench for seven minutes, Goodrich returned to the floor and was able to play the final 10 minutes, of the second half and overtime, without picking up his fifth foul. "They fronted Paul [Romanczuk]," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "They worked hard not letting him get the ball to cause that fifth foul on Goodrich. I thought they did a nice job of adjusting their defensive sets." Meanwhile, Penn's catalyst for the evening, junior forward George Mboya, picked up his fifth foul on the first defensive play after returning to the game with 5:31 left to play. He was called for a foul as Goodrich, just back onto the floor from a bench stint due to his own four fouls, scored an easy layup. The three-point play made the score 58-53 with 5:10 remaining. Penn forward Paul Romanczuk suffered a similar fate. The 6'8" junior dominated the low post on offense and was key in getting Goodrich into foul trouble. Romanczuk picked up his fourth foul for leaning on Goodrich's back to prevent the Tigers center from establishing position on the blocks. The Quakers' power forward picked up his final foul by hitting the arm of Princeton junior forward Gabe Lewullis as he dropped in a layup -- the same type of play Goodrich allowed Penn to score uncontested. Lewullis's three-point play made it 72-68 with 2:20 to go in overtime. More importantly, it left Penn's two best inside scoring threats and its two best interior defenders on the bench with Goodrich still out on the hardwood. "I won't deny the fact that playing with four other starters for two years now has done great things for our program," Lewullis said. "We are doing things that we didn't do the past two years." Penn turned the ball over on a jump ball its next time down the court, and then Goodrich drove the final nail in the proverbial coffin by drawing a fifth foul on Jed Ryan with 1:45 to play. Goodrich's free throws made the score 74-68, and Princeton had its perfect 14-0 Ivy League season wrapped up. Goodrich finished the night with a season-high 33 points in part because he let Penn have a couple of points uncontested on offense. "I layed off guys. I had to give up some layups," Goodrich said. "But I had to do what I did to stay on the floor. Once [Romanczuk] got the ball I was really in jeopardy of picking up my fifth foul." Avoiding picking up a fifth foul was not the only area in which Princeton's experience showed. It was also apparent from the Tigers' ability to stop Penn from scoring on a handful of possessions in the second half when a Quakers bucket could have given the home team a lead. "I don't think we got frustrated at all tonight," Lewullis said. "The players kept their cool. Our players, our teams, our coaching staff, is not very emotional. We are not bumping chests. That might help when things aren't going well." After tying the game with 12:23 to play, Penn did not pull even again until there was just 4:16 left on the clock. Penn eventually tied the game and even moved out in front by a bucket. If the Quakers had taken the lead earlier, however, one can speculate as to whether Penn might have been able to open a wider gap. Four of Princeton's starting five has started every game over the last two years together. Over that span they have gone 50-5. Junior James Mastaglio replaced 1997 graduate Sydney Johnson in the lineup and has started every game this year. The players familiarity with being on the court together in pressure situations allowed them to make the adjustments necessary to win the game. "When the overtime started, I said, 'let's start confidently, you know what you are doing, I am not calling any plays,' " Carmody said. They switched Goodrich's assignments on defense, they stayed out of foul trouble, and they knew how to get the ball in low once the Penn interior had found seats on the bench. Princeton's greatest asset, its experience, will become the Quakers' asset next year. Garett Kreitz is the only player who will be missing from the current rotation, and the Quakers will be the ones who should know how to win the close games.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.