First-half hole too deep for Tigers
By: Bob Nuse
Joe Scott hasn’t had to have too many long talks with his team after games this season.
The fact that Saturday was his first meant two things the Tigers were playing pretty well through nine games, and Saturday’s game didn’t go too well.
"This is the first time I’ve been having the kind of talk I just had with them all year," Scott said after his PU men’s basketball team fell to 6-3 with a 53-47 loss to Rutgers on Saturday. "That’s a good sign that we haven’t been having them. But it also means that we still have a way to go.
"So we have improved, but we have to keep getting better at it because there is no other way for us. And there is nothing wrong with that. It’s called knowing who you are and respecting who you are and having pride in who you are, and then going out and executing it. I know we have it in us. I’ve seen the improvement."
At 6-3, Princeton has opened the season much better than its 2-10 start of a year ago. But on Saturday, Rutgers came out shooting well, making 14 of 16 shots in the first half, and the Tigers dug a 31-19 hole at halftime. The lead grew as large as 41-25 before Princeton began to creep back into the game, getting as close as 51-47 with five seconds left in the game.
"I thought (Rutgers) played excellent," Scott said. "You have to give Fred (Hill) a lot of credit. They came out and were ready to play. They’ve started to play well right now. They’ve won three in a row and are becoming a more confident team. They’re gaining their identity."
Princeton is also looking to gain an identity. The biggest asset they’ve had through the early season has been their defense. But for the first 20 minutes against Rutgers, the Tigers did little to stop the Scarlet Knight offense. The defense improved in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to dig out of a big hole.
But the Tigers did play better in the second half, whittling away at the lead and getting into a position where a rebound or two may have made the difference.
"I think we’re definitely getting there," senior Luke Owings said. "We have a lot of guys playing a lot of minutes. We had nine guys play over 15 minutes. So we have a lot of guys feeling out their new roles on this team. Everyone is coming in and giving their all for the 10 or 15 minutes they’re in there.
"We don’t have any stars, so the chemistry is coming together. It’s a work in progress. None of us has really played on a team like this before. When we were here freshmen year, Judson (Wallace) was the star, Will (Venable) was the star. We had a guy who we would go to. We’re building our chemistry. It’s not going to happen overnight."
Owings can certainly see a difference in the Tigers’ record from last year to this year. But he has been seeing the team progress even when the record didn’t look like it.
"This year, last year and the year before, even during the bad times, it’s always been heartening when we can see what we’re building toward," said Owings, who had seven points in the loss to Rutgers. "Even if we’re not there yet, we see flashes of it. Last year it was maybe for a minute where we would play well. This year it’s a flash for five minutes or six minutes.
"It’s a 40-minute game and it’s not something where we’re not very good and then we’re good for 40 minutes. As we build it, it is a different feeling because we see it coming more and more. It takes hard work and a lot of practice. It’s something you do every day and it becomes you."
What would help the Tigers is if they were a little better rebounding team. Rutgers had 11 offensive rebounds, including several down the stretch after missed foul shots where Princeton could have cut into the lead.
"Rebounding is going to be rebounding," said Scott, whose team is off until Saturday when they host Marshall at 4 p.m. "We’re not getting a guy in here who is going to swipe the glass and get us 12 defensive rebounds a game. That guy isn’t coming down the pike. There is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with the fact that we’re not getting the guy who can grab three offensive rebounds and put them back for six free points a game. I’m OK with that. That is why every other area of the game becomes so important to us. All we can do is keep working on it.
"We have improved. But whatever happened in the last month doesn’t really matter. What happened today is what matters. To me, that was a winnable game where we didn’t play our best and Rutgers played really well. I give them credit. I’m happy where we’re at, but we have to keep on improving. We have work to do."
That being said, Princeton is a better team than it was at this time last year. The record indicates that, as does the play on the court. And Scott is confident this group of Tigers will continue to get better.
"I’m more confident in each individual game," Scott said. "Like tonight, when it was 12-2, I’m not calling time out. They know what to do. There is no miracle cure. I think as time goes along and they keep growing and developing, they’ll get better at that too. I like our team. We can get better. We have a nice mix of experience and youth. We have different guys who can do different things. Putting it together night after night for 40 minutes, that’s the challenge."
It’s a challenge the players feel they are up to.
"I think everybody who watches us can see we have the pieces and potential to be very good," said senior Edwin Buffmire, who led the Tigers with 12 points off the bench against Rutgers. "They shot lights out tonight, but you have to make them miss and not let a team shoot lights out. I think a lot of it is having the mentality to come out and attack a team right from the get-go."
That’s just one other piece the Tigers are looking for as they look to piece everything together.

