PU has win in reserves

Bench lifts Tigers to narrow win over Lehigh

By: Bob Nuse
   Joe Scott spent most of last year toying with different lineups and trying to find the right combination of players for his Princeton University men’s basketball team.
   The end result was a rough start that saw the Tigers lose 12 of their first 15 games before closing the season strong to finish 12-16.
   This year, Scott has settled on his top nine players early. Now, it’s just a matter of finding everyone’s role. On Wednesday, it was three players coming off the bench that made a huge difference as the Tigers rallied to beat Lehigh, 44-43, in their home opener at Jadwin Gym.
   Noah Savage, Mike Strittmatter and Edwin Buffmire combined for 18 points and 10 rebounds in 59 minutes as the Tigers improved to 6-2 overall this season. Their efforts, combined with a career-high 12 points from freshman Lincoln Gunn, helped erase a seven-point halftime deficit on the way to the win.
   "Those guys were playing well," said Scott, who played the three players off the bench, plus freshmen Gunn and Marcus Schroeder for most of the final 12 minutes. "Savage was playing well and with some confidence. He gave us a big lift. Strittmatter was playing well. I did think about going to (Zach) Finley for defense and rebounding. With him we have a freshman that can do some different things and now I am seeing him do those things in games, so I will have more confidence in him.
   "But those guys were doing good things. Buffmire was rebounding the ball and gave us some baskets against the zone. Those guys were making plays and I thought our defense was good."
   The game was tied, 43-43, after a Lehigh basket with 21 seconds left. The Tigers elected to not call a time out and just ran their offense. Buffmire got off a shot with two seconds left that was no good. But Schroeder got the rebound and was fouled as time expired. After a time out, he sank the first of two foul shots for the win.
   "We were lucky to get a call like that," Scott admitted. "We have to play better so that a call like that doesn’t go against us. I feel bad for the Lehigh guys. They played hard all game long. It was a tough, hard-fought game, and to lose a game like that doesn’t seem fair. But I’ve been on the other end in those same situations. That’s the way those things go. I’m glad we won, but I feel bad that it had to happen that way."
   Princeton may not have been in a position to win at all if not for the play of Savage, Buffmire and Strittmatter off the bench. With Justin Conway missing his second straight game, Finley went into the starting lineup. But with Conway coming back for Saturday’s game against Rutgers, the Tigers can certainly go nine deep now.
   Nobody was happier after Wednesday’s win than Savage, who logged a season high with his 20 minutes. He finished with eight points, including a dunk with 7:24 left that gave the Tigers the lead for good, and also added three rebounds.
   A starter in every game his first two years at Princeton, Savage had not played more than 13 minutes in a game this season coming off the bench. He was happy to play a bigger role in the win over Lehigh.
   "It’s been a new experience," Savage admitted. "You find out a lot of things that you think are just cliches. People always say they would rather win and play 10 minutes a game. I was like, well, I don’t know if that’s really true. Sitting has to be terrible. But you actually feel better winning the game.
   "So would I rather play 10 minutes a game and win and be 6-2? Last year was tough at the beginning of the year. A lot of times I felt like I had to do everything. And now we have so many good players that my role is reduced. But I see it as a positive."
   And it will even be more of a positive if he plays like he did Wednesday night, helping the Tigers to a win.
   "This is the first game that has happened," Savage said. "But if it continues, that’s a positive. For a couple games I felt like I was going to get my 10 minutes and that was that. But I think it depends on the game and the situation."
   Scott feels like he now has nine players he can go to in any situation. As a coach, that’s a nice position to be in.
   "I thought Strittmatter gave us a lift tonight," Scott said. "And obviously Noah. He played his best game of the year in the last game. What I think I’m seeing from him is an understanding of what this team needs from him. He showed that tonight. That’s two good games for him in a row.
   "When he’s doing what he’s doing, he does things other guys on our team can’t do. He can tip out a second shot, he can get an offensive rebound. He can drive and do some things that other guys on our team can’t do. There is a little bit more bounce in his step right now. He just needs to show up in all the facets of the game. He was up high for a rebound today. He did a lot of things."
   And while PU struggled on offense most of the night, the defense was very good and made the difference in the game.
   "Our defense is excellent," Scott said. "Our offense, for whatever the reason and mostly in first halves, we just can’t get going and that’s what happened tonight. Luckily our defense bailed us out. We played terrific defense the whole game."
   And because of it, the Tigers are 6-2, which is a far better start than a year ago. And the fact the team is winning may mean less minutes on some nights than some players are used to, but for now Scott is content to go with the hot hand.
   For Savage, that means a different role than the one he had his first two years with the Tigers.
   "I think it’s the team," Scott said. "Our team is better, we’re 6-2. We’re playing better. It’s not really minutes. It’s not really starting. It’s playing well when you’re in there and doing the things that we all know our team needs to do well to win. That’s what he needs to do and I have seen a big-time improvement in the last two games."
   That’s been true of the whole roster, which seems to be getting it together much faster this year than they did a year ago.
   "We’ve been playing nine guys in every game," Scott said. "It’s just that Finley was getting less. We have to figure it out a little bit. Is Conway going to go play another position? With our guys it’s not about minutes. It’s about who is doing the things consistently to help us win. I want it to be nine guys playing well and playing the way we play. And then we can count on every guy that goes in the game to play well. I think we have it in us for nine guys to play well."