RUNNING POINT: Princeton Day School boys’ basketball player Gary Jennings dribbles upcourt in recent action. Last Monday, junior point guard Jennings scored 17 points to help PDS defeat Notre Dame 47-43. The Panthers, now 5-4, play at Trenton Central on January 15 and host Pingry on January 17. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Hosting Hopewell Valley last Wednesday, the Princeton Day School boys’ basketball team found itself in an uphill battle.
PDS trailed HoVal 10-5 late in the first quarter and was down 20-15 at halftime. The Panthers drew to within 22-20 midway through the third quarter and 30-26 early in the fourth but never got closer on the way to a 38-32 loss.
While PHS junior point guard Gary Jennings was proud of the way the Panthers battled, he acknowledged that they didn’t execute as planned.
“That is the attitude we try to carry as a team, as an organization at Princeton Day,” said Jennings of the team’s fighting spirit. “I think that we didn’t stick to our game plan offensively. We were supposed to get a little more back cuts and switch everything.”
Jennings pointed to selfish play as a key factor in the setback.
“We got a little to one-pass, one-shot minded a little too selfish,” said Jennings. “I felt like if we had played as a team, we would have had a different outcome and it wouldn’t have to be a battle from the beginning of the game.”
While PDS played well at the defensive end in holding HoVal under 40 points, Jennings saw room for improvement there as well.
“As a unit, we try to play good team defense but it should have been better,” said Jennings. “We had a lot of mental lapses as a team. We have to play together, play harder and play as one.”
Running the PDS offense, Jennings provided some highlights as he scored a team-high 14 points.
“I was just playing within the flow of the offense,” said Jennings. “I was getting to my spots and just trying to hit the open shot or the open man and play the right way.”
As the squad’s more battle-tested player, Jennings has looked to set the right tone for the squad’s younger players.
“I am one of the three captains on the team so I am one of the leaders on the team,” said Jennings, who showed some leadership last Monday, scoring 17 points to help PDS defeat Notre Dame 47-43 and improve to 5-4. “I am someone the younger guys can look up to and aspire to be like when they become upperclassmen.”
PDS head coach Eugene Burroughs was looking at the matchup against Colonial Valley Conference rival HoVal as a measuring stick.
“It was a great test for us to see where we are in the CVC,” said Burroughs. “These are the type of teams that we are going to play. They played hard, they outworked us. They were more physical and it paid off by the score.”
While PDS kept it close, Burroughs acknowledged that his squad never found a rhythm offensively.
“Against a team like this, being down six or eight is like being down 12, there is no shot clock,” said Burroughs. “For us, we are not doing the things that we need to do to win games. Offensively we weren’t great. They played hard and did great things but we weren’t executing what we were supposed to execute to give ourselves a better chance to get better shots.”
The Panthers played some solid defense but struggled on the boards.
“It was just OK,” said Burroughs. “We held them to 38 but they probably rebounded almost half of their misses. When we got a stop, they were taking the ball out of our hands or getting the deflection and now you get the extra possessions. It changes the dynamic of the game when you are not scoring at the other end.”
With PDS playing at Trenton Central on January 15 and hosting Pingry on January 17, Burroughs is looking for some sharper play as a unit from his players.
“We need to trust more to execute our game plan better and more consistently,” said Burroughs. “It is paying attention to the detail of the things that we focus on every day in practice. It is not going individual and trying to do your own thing.
In the view of Jennings, the Panthers can do some good things down the stretch.
“I think we have shown that we can win and we have to stick to the recipe of winning,” said Jennings. “It is sticking to our game plan and following our coaching staff. I think we will be in great shape by the time the CVC tournament rolls around.”