Wente's shot keeps Tigers afloat

Thanks to Kyle Wente, the Princeton men's basketball team narrowly avoided flushing its Ivy League championship hopes down a New England drain. After falling to Dartmouth, 57-56, Friday night, the Tigers headed to Boston and won in a 69-67 squeaker on Saturday due to the last-second heroics of their sophomore guard. With 7.1 seconds remaining and Princeton trailing, 67-66, Wente took the inbounds pass, dribbled the length of the court and hit a leaning, 25-foot shot as time expired to give the Tigers the win and keep them tied with the Quakers for first in the league. "Coach [John Thompson] wanted someone to get the ball and go," Wente told The Trentonian. "I was looking to pass, but once I pulled up, I saw the clock and knew I had no time. I just had to let it go. It felt good when it left my hand." Wente hails from Effingham, Ill., and a basketball family. His father played for the University of Illinois and his brother plays for Illinois Wesleyan. Wente was a high school standout in the Midwest. He was a McDonald's All-America nominee, and his 314 career steals stand as the third-most in Illinois history. Penn coach Fran Dunphy will see Wente play in person for the first time tonight, when the Tigers visit the Palestra, but he respects the 6'4" shooting guard's game already. "I've really been impressed with him," Dunphy said. "He just knows what he's doing out there. There's no rattle in him." The Quakers have never faced Wente, as he spent the bulk of his freshman year sidelined by injury. Wente scored only three points and pulled down three rebounds in 18 minutes of action last year. But Wente came through with a career-high 22 points last weekend against the Crimson, while dishing out three assists. "There's a poise to his game," Dunphy said. "That [shot against Harvard] wasn't by accident. It wasn't just a heave that went in. "I'm guessing that it was something that he had a pretty good notion he could make, and obviously he came through with it." On the year, Wente, who has started in five games, is averaging 7.7 points and 3.2 rebounds. On the weekend though, Wente averaged 16.5 points, four rebounds and four assists against Dartmouth and Harvard, earning a spot on the Ivy League's weekly Honor Roll. "Wente's really come on to play very well for them," Dunphy said. "I'm really impressed when I watch him play."

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