Tigers tripped in return home
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Being back at home helped — at least for a little while — but in the end even the friendly confines of Jadwin Gym weren’t enough to get the Princeton University men’s basketball team back to winning.
The Tigers had a 13-point lead with less than 12 minutes to play, only to see Manhattan outscore them 35-17 in what turned into a 71-66 loss, Princeton’s eighth in a row since opening with two straight wins.
”They just pressured us and we got on our heels,” said Princeton coach Sydney Johnson, whose team is off until a Dec. 22 game at Marshall. “As an entire group, we didn’t respond. It’s disappointing and it’s a tough way to lose just from the standpoint that they punched and we didn’t counter-punch.”
The Tigers played well in building a 49-36 lead and appeared on their way to winning for the first time since Nov. 14. But the offense went cold, the defense didn’t stop much, and the Tigers fell to 2-8 on the season. Princeton is now 5-21 in the calendar year of 2007.
At some point, the Tigers need to get the final results heading in the right direction.
”It does (play on the mind) a bit,” Johnson said. “I think you relax a bit (when you get a win). It’s hard for me to keep down. I was really, really excited and up for the game in the shootaround. I was eager to see these guys do OK and get the weight off of their backs.
”Apart from a lackluster effort we had against Evansville , I think these guys have approached every game in the right way. Clearly we want to win to confirm some of the good things that they are doing and that just hasn’t come.”
Zach Finley had another strong game for the Tigers, finishing with 17 points and eight rebounds. But down the stretch, Princeton had trouble getting the ball to its sophomore center.
”I think they were a little more physical,” Johnson said. “I probably shouldn’t say anything more than that. That’s the way it goes. We certainly looked to throw it down and make sure that he got some touches. That was big. That was a key to the game.
”We were up 13 and we certainly liked that position. We have been playing catch-up. We knew that Manhattan was good. We could see from some of the wins they have had and how they are going about things. We knew they were going to be a challenge. Clearly we liked where we were but we don’t like where we finished.”
The Tigers will have plenty of time to practice over the next couple weeks. They play just twice — at Marshall and at Monmouth on Dec. 30 — in the next 19 days.
”It’s just really disappointing,” Johnson said. “There is a lot of basketball to be played. I will tell you that the guys are giving us the effort. It’s just that there are decisive moments where we aren’t following through and I think if we can do that different outcomes will come.”
Kyle Koncz added 14 points for the Tigers in the loss. Michael Strittmatter came off the bench to score nine points in just 12 minutes.

