CLOSE CALL: Princeton University men’s basketball player Jacob Huggins dribbles upcourt in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, junior forward Higgins scored career-high 14 points in a losing cause as Princeton got edged 61-60 at Penn. The defeat snapped Princeton’s 14-game winning streak in the series. Princeton, now 8-15 overall and 4-4 Ivy League, hosts Cornell on February 13 and Columbia on February 14. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)

By Justin Feil

A few inches.
That’s all that separated the Princeton University men’s basketball team from extending its winning streak over Penn to 15 games and picking up back-to-back road wins in the Ivy League.

Tiger junior guard Dalen Davis, who had just nailed a difficult clutch 3-pointer to trim the Princeton deficit to one point with 57 seconds left, was stopped as he just crossed the foul line on a drive in the game’s closing seconds. Davis spun back to his right, jabbed quickly then faded away ever so slightly off his back foot to send a soft, contested jumper bouncing high off the front rim in a 61-60 loss Saturday at The Palestra in Philadelphia.

“Felt great about having the ball in Dalen’s hands,” said Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson. “He had just banged a three to put us in that spot and it didn’t go down, but we gave ourselves a chance to win.”

The loss was the first to the Quakers for any of the Princeton players. The Tigers had won every game in the series since the end of the 2018 season, a stretch of 14 straight.

Saturday’s loss dropped Princeton to 8-15 overall, 4-4 in the Ivy League. Coupled with Dartmouth’s loss to Harvard, and Cornell’s win over Columbia, it puts the Tigers in a four-way tie for third place in the Ivies with Dartmouth, Cornell and Penn. There are six conference games remaining with the Tigers hosting Cornell on Friday with a chance to avenge one of their losses, and then Columbia on Saturday. Four of Princeton’s last six games are at home at Jadwin Gym where they are 7-1. They are 1-14 away from home now.

“A lot of basketball left,” said Henderson. “We’re right in the mix. We’ve got to stay positive. We’ve had some ups and downs with injuries, and it looks like we’re going to be in the same spot again now. We got to just keep finding guys to fill in and contribute.”

Regular starter, sophomore guard Jack Stanton, was limited to six minutes off the bench, all in the first half as the Tigers fell behind, 35-25. Henderson said he’ll be re-evaluated before next weekend, but did not specify his injury or illness.

In the second half, the Tigers whittled away late at the deficit, a switch of developments from some of their road woes that have seen them have difficulty closing out games. This time, they trimmed away at Penn’s eight-point lead with 5:00 to go. The Tigers held a 12-5 scoring edge over the last five minutes.

“I love the way we played at the end,” said Henderson. “That’s one that you could have got but didn’t go our way tonight. But that was a very, very physical game. And we had a chance to win it at the end. So, it’s good on the road.”

Princeton had four players reach double figures scoring with the comeback fueled largely by sophomore forward Malik Abdullahi, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for his second career double-double, and junior forward Jacob Huggins, who played 18 minutes in the second half and finished with a career-high 14 points to go with six rebounds. Abdullahi’s 11 rebounds was a career-high and he also tied his career best with four assists.

Huggins, who hit 14 points for the second time this season, provided a presence offensively and defensively for the Tigers. An alley-oop layup he finished gave Princeton an early spark in the second half, and he continued to make plays from there.

“He was awesome, especially down the stretch and doing things that juniors do on the road,” said Henderson of Huggins. “He was terrific. He was great on both ends of the floor. He got us back in the game, made a huge three.”

It was just Huggins’ fifth 3-pointer of the season and helped make up for some of the Tigers’ usual top scorers having tougher nights. Davis battled through foul trouble to score 10 points. Junior guard Jackson Hicke also had 10 points, eight of which came in the first half. And without Stanton available, their third-leading scorer, the Tigers had to find scoring elsewhere and buckle down defensively. They did both — holding Penn’s leading scorer Ethan Roberts without a point — to give themselves a chance to win on the final possession.

“This stuff’s got to help us at some point,” said Henderson. “We’re also pretty banged up, but we’re getting better and, like I said, it’s tough to win on the road. That was just a really physical game. And so to be able to be right there, I feel really good about it.”

Henderson bemoaned some poor 3-point shooting that put the Tigers behind. Princeton led less than three minutes the entire game. Princeton was just 2 for 11 from beyond the arc in the first half, but went 4-for-8 in the second half. The Tigers also missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and finished 10 for 16 from the foul line.

“I think that the key for us is free throws,” said Henderson. “It hurt us, we missed some front ends, left a lot of points on the line there in a very close game. That’ll get you on the road.”

Princeton still came up with some big plays down the stretch to give them a chance to win it. Penn led, 52-46, when Abdullahi made a pair of free throws. After a Quaker score, a great second effort by Huggins kept alive an offensive rebound that was kicked out for a Landon Clark 3-pointer for the Tigers.

After Huggins helped force a defensive stop, Abdullahi’s layup cut the deficit to 58-55 with 2:28 to go. Abdullahi followed with a jumper to bring the Tigers within a point before Penn scored a critical 3-pointer. Davis followed with an incredible 3-point make as the shot clock wound down and after Princeton got a stop, he had another shot to win it.

“Our guys in that locker room, they felt like they had it,” said Henderson. “They felt like they were going to win the game. I love that about them.”