PHS wins first season opener in five years

Holman helps Little Tigers win Carter debut

By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
   LAWRENCE — One thing the Princeton High basketball team didn’t lack coming into Friday night’s season-opener against Lawrence was confidence.
   Even though Princeton won just seven games a year ago, the Little Tigers feel like they’ve started to turn a corner. Against Lawrence, everything was clicking on the way to a 73-40 win.
   ”We knew we would come out good,” said junior guard DeQuan Holman, who scored 10 points in the win. “We just knew we had to play our game and control the tempo. We thought if we did that we could do real good.
   ”We’re coming out to try to prove that we know how to play the game of basketball. We’re trying to get respect out here. We’re going to try to do the things that we know how to do best. We want to go out there and win games.”
   Brian Dunlap led the Little Tigers with 30 points, hitting five three-point shots on the night. Brandon Merrill had 11 points and Skye Ettin added 10 to give Princeton four players in double figures.
   ”They came out and performed,” said first-year coach Jason Carter, whose team will host Hightstown tonight. “This is the freshman team I had two years ago with a combination of the senior class and the sophomore class. And that team went 15-5 and at one point we were 15-1. It’s not only that they have talent, but they’re a cohesive group that understands what each other can do.”
   Princeton jumped out to a 22-8 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. By halftime, the lead was 36-15 and the Little Tigers were on their way to winning their opener for the first time since 2002.
   For a team that has qualified for the state tournament just once in the last 12 years, it was a great way to start the season.
   ”Our goal is a championship,” said Holman, who enjoyed a productive football season this past fall. “That’s what we’ve set out to do and that’s what we’re going to try to accomplish this year. We have a good team and we feel like we can make a run at a championship.
   ”Our team gets along real well. On Saturdays, we won’t have practice until 1, but we’re together from 10 until 4 working out together. We have a lot of team chemistry. We’re pretty young, but we’re a pretty good basketball team.”
   Holman is happy to be a part of it this year. Last season, academic troubles kept him off the court until the final four games, where he averaged 11.8 points a game. This year he’s kept everything in order and figures to play a big role for the Little Tigers.
   ”I was ineligible the first part of the season,” Holman said. “But I got my grades up and when the state cutoff came around I was able to play. Having that experience definitely helps. I got my grades together and kept them good.
   ”Basketball is my life. It’s what I think about all day, along with my schoolwork. I’m very happy to be a part of the team this year.”
   Added Carter: “I would love to see him have success this year, both on the court and off the court. I think he’s a great kid. He’s maturing right now and you can see that.”
   For Carter, picking up a win in his first game as a head coach felt great, even if there were some anxious moments leading up to the game.
   ”I’ve been around sports a really long time and I can’t remember the last time I was as nervous as I was before this game,” he said. “I had butterflies. I was walking back and forth and Coach (Shahid) Abdul-Karim kept asking me if I was all right. I was just nervous. I played in two national championships (at Rowan University) and I wasn’t as nervous as I was today.”
   The players were certainly happy to get Carter a win, for his benefit and theirs.
   ”Yes, I was,” Holman said. “I don’t want to go to a Saturday practice with Coach Carter if we don’t get Ws.”
   For one Saturday, the Little Tigers had no worries.