Sophomore guard makes late play to seal men’s hoops win
By: Justin Feil
Scott Greenman hadn’t been on the court in a tight game since his high school days at St. Augustine Prep. In the Princeton University men’s basketball trip to the McCaffrey Classic in California last weekend, he was in two.
The sophomore guard hit his first five shots against University of California at Irvine on Friday night for a team- and career-high 14 points, but his sixth shot rimmed out with 16 seconds left. The Anteaters went to the other end and got a layup from Adam Parada with 1.8 seconds left to win, 57-55.
"I had a career high, but it doesn’t matter if we lose," Greenman said. "I’d rather score no points and win. I think (the last) shot was close. My shot was on and I made all my others. The one we needed just didn’t fall right."
Saturday night against host Fresno State, there were more late-game dramatics for Greenman. He was whistled for an offensive foul with 10 seconds to go and the Tigers up just three points. But when the Bulldogs’ Marcus West missed a three-pointer, it was the 5-foot-9 Greenman who pulled down the rebound and hit two free throws to finish with seven points in a 72-67 Princeton win.
"I definitely felt a lot better after winning that game and not scoring as much," said Greenman, who is averaging a team second-best 10.2 points per game this season. "As long a we get the ‘W.’"
Judson Wallace led the way against Fresno State with 26 points, a night after he had 13. Will Venable had 10 points and nine assists against the Bulldogs. But it came down to the plays made in the final seconds, and it was the shortest guy on the floor that came up with a big play.
"That was a tough game," Greenman said. "It was at their place, it was pretty much a packed house. There were about 15,000 people there. They were big and athletic and they made a couple tough shots. But the fact that we got the stop after the foul call was big.
"The ball was right there. It wasn’t too difficult a rebound. I just jumped up and got it. We definitely needed that rebound."
Greenman has had greater opportunity in his second season for the Orange and Black, who improved to 4-1 going into Saturday’s game at Rutgers. He played just 10 minutes per game as a freshman, and did not start once. He’s started every game this season so far and is averaging more than 30 minutes per game.
"It’s a lot better feeling this year," Greenman said. "Coming into this year, the offense made a lot more sense to me. I worked to get into shape so I could play more, and I feel that’s paying off, especially defensively. I feel a lot more confident."
It has shown on the court. He is shooting 55 percent from three-point range after shooting 40 percent last year, but he doesn’t consider himself a scorer for the Tigers.
"I’ve been hitting my shots this year, but I still look at myself as someone who tries to get other people involved in the game first," he said. "I’m more of a passer than a scorer. It just depends how the game is going.
"Against (UC-Irvine), they were playing zone a couple of times and we had good ball movement and I was open. I was hitting almost every shot. I was getting pretty good looks."
Rutgers will certainly be aware of Greenman’s shooting prowess, as they were before he arrived at Old Nassau. He is one of two in-state players on the Princeton team this year along with freshman Max Schafer. And Greenman, though he did not appear against the Scarlet Knights in last year’s 76-70 loss, is plenty familiar with what he’ll face Saturday.
"They’re similar to Fresno State," Greenman said. "They’re long, tall and athletic. They’re going to play aggressive defense. They’re a really good team, and they got a bunch of good players in.
"Like any of our games, it comes down to defense and execution. It’s definitely going to be tough. It’s at their place and it’s going to be a tough game for us."
Giving Princeton confidence is the experience gained from this weekend in a similar situation. After two home games to open the year, the game against Rutgers is its fourth of five straight on the road. Playing the UC-Irvine and Fresno State teams added to the difficulty.
"I’d say it was probably a step up," Greenman said. "Both were really good teams. We feel like it was a learning experience with the loss, but we could have come out with that win. It showed a lot that we bounced back at their place. It was a big win.
"Especially in the Fresno State game, we really stuck with our stuff. We stuck with it down the stretch. We had a lot of opportunities to get out of our stuff, but we did a good job of running it and still getting pretty good shots at the end of the shot clock. And just the experience with big crowds in away games will help. And we now have two tight games of experience with this group."
It’s something that Scott Greenman hadn’t had in two years, but is feeling better about after the Tigers bounced back from one narrow loss to get back on the winning track.