ACTION JACKSON: Princeton University men’s basketball player Jackson Hicke dribbles past a foe in recent action. Last Saturday, junior guard Hicke scored a career-high 27 points to help Princeton defeat Yale 76-60. Hicke was later named as the Co-Ivy League Player of the Week along with Connor Amundsen of Dartmouth. The Tigers, now 6-11 overall and 2-0 Ivy League, play at Dartmouth on January 17 and at Harvard on January 19. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Jackson Hicke struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the early going for the Princeton University men’s basketball team as it hosted Yale last Saturday afternoon.
Junior guard Hicke scored just four points in the first half on 2 of 5 shooting as Princeton battled Yale to a 22-22 stalemate.
Catching fire in the second half, Hicke erupted for 23 points to end up with a career-high 27 points as the Tigers pulled away to a 76-60 win over the Bulldogs before a throng of 4,884 at Jadwin Gym, improving to 6-11 overall and 2-0 Ivy League.
“My teammates just got me in good spots, we ran some good sets,” said Hicke, who hit 6 of 8 shots in the second half, including 2 of 2 from 3-point range, and was later named as the Co-Ivy League Player of the Week along with Connor Amundsen of Dartmouth. “As a team we settled down a little bit in the second half. I think we were playing a little fast in the first half and let Yale dictate what they wanted to do. We did a good job of getting to our spots in the second half. My teammates found me and I got pretty open.”
Coming off a 54-point second half in a 78-76 win over Penn on January 5, the Tigers matched that total against Yale as they made 13 of 22 shots from the floor over the final 20 minutes of the contest in earning their third straight win.
“We talk a lot about getting better during the course of the game,” said Hicke. “At each media timeout it is come back and look at what you did and see where you can improve from the last one. Halftime is a really good time to look at it overall and really assess it. We did a really good job of coming out strong in those first four minutes after halftime. They are some of the most important minutes of the game. I don’t know why we shoot so much better in the second half. We somehow have to do that in the first half too.”
Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson was thrilled with victory over the Bulldogs as the Tigers had lost four of its five games against Yale over the last two seasons.
“That was an awesome win, I am so proud of the guys,” said Henderson, who got 17 points from Dalen Davis off the bench with Jack Stanton chipping in 10. “Yale is such a terrific team. They have been at the top of our league here for a little while. They had us during the regular season last year so this was a really important win for us, the most important on the season. I am really pleased and happy for our guys. We were physical, we were tough.”
Henderson was particularly pleased with Hicke’s production and leadership.
“He was terrific, I love the post move he had on [Riley] Fox,” said Henderson. I call that a Dominique, that is a reverse pivot. Wilkins used to do that all of the time. It was also just the calmness in making shots but most importantly was the way he was talking to us. I called a play and he turned and said no, no, this. Nothing makes me happier.”
The Tigers are making more and more noise with their communication on the court.
“The guys are really starting to talk one another in a really fun way,” said Henderson. “I always say when they are having these awesome conversations on the bench, it doesn’t happen every year. When they are doing it and in a fun and cool way, talking to one another and lifting each other up, there is no better profession to be in. It is a lot of fun.”
Princeton lifted its game defensively holding Yale to 35.4 percent shooting (23 of 65) and 25 points under its scoring average of 85.4 points per game coming into Saturday.
“It was not pretty but I just saw white jerseys flying around all over the place,” said Henderson. “It is what you have to do. They have got us by a little bit with their size. They are such a physical team. I thought we did a great job on [Nick] Townsend, he is a really difficult guy to stop.”
Sophomore forward Malik Abdullahi helped hold Townsend to 13 points.
“Unbelievable, it was such a crucial part of the game,” said Henderson. “Townsend is a really difficult guy to cover and even when you do great job defensively, he still gets it done. I thought he was physical. It was great.”
Abdullahi, who grabbed nine rebounds in the win, utilized a multifaceted approach in dealing with Townsend.
“The mindset coming in was just be physical, he has got me by a couple of pounds,” said Abdullahi. “I didn’t let that get to me. I kind of emphasized the little things, like the arm bar and just being physical. It was just being tougher, knowing tendencies, things like that. That was the mindset going into the game and it worked out for us.”
In Henderson’s view, the Tigers toughened up as they went 4-11 going through a tortuous non-conference gauntlet.
“We put the guys through the wringer and we played without Dalen and not that he is a savior but we need that balance, that spacing, that know how,” said Henderson of junior guard Davis, who injured his ankle in a 70-57 win over Northeastern on November 20 and didn’t return to action until the Penn game. ”He has played twice as many games as anyone else in the program. I knew when they were in Florida (for the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational during Thanksgiving week) in the second half against Vermont and against Temple, I was OK we have got something here. I knew then.”
In taking those lumps, Princeton learned how to win tight games.
“They are realizing they are a good team,” said Henderson.
“It is off of the court, on the court, their practice habits and the way they are talking to one another. It is what they have learned in the non-conference.”
While encouraged by his team’s recent surge, Henderson knows the Tigers face plenty of challenges as they hit the road to play at Dartmouth on January 17 and at Harvard on January 19.
“We know, the guys know, what it is going to take throughout the course of the rest of the league,” said Henderson. “To be sitting where we are right now, I don’t want to pat ourselves on the back too hard. We haven’t had a lot of wins, let’s celebrate the win and then you have got to win on the road.”
In Hicke’s view, the Tigers are primed to make a run for the Ivy title.
“We are really thankful for the opportunity, it is almost like a second season,” said Hicke. “We grew a lot in those first 15 games. I think now is where we are really starting to learn how to win and put what we learned to use. I think with the whole team today, just top to bottom, the focus was there. We guarded as a team and we did what we needed to do to get a win. One hundred percent, we are trying to win in the league and contend for a title.”