Tiger men using solid defense from junior
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Jason Briggs is new to the Ivy League games.
The Princeton University junior had played in a pair of Ivy games prior to this weekend, but those came two years ago in a mop-up role.
Briggs played 25 influential minutes as the Tigers swept their opening weekend and built a three-game winning streak overall after losing 12 straight.
”It’s a big step forward,” Briggs said. “Obviously we have a long ways to go. We lost 12 games in a row. These last three have been good to win. We’re taking steps in the right direction. That’s what we have to do.
”We’re always optimistic and we always feel like it’s going to turn. It’s really starting to go in the right direction.”
Briggs was not in the game against Harvard when Princeton gained the lead for good, but it was his hustle that gave the Tigers that chance as they went on to a 68-54 win Saturday to stay perfect along with Cornell and Penn in Ivy play.
After back-to-back baskets by Jeremy Lin gave the visiting Crimson a 49-48 lead with 6:16 left in the game, Briggs would not be denied as he chased down a loose rebound and deflected it off a Harvard player. After a substitution, Lincoln Gunn’s three-pointer gave Princeton the lead for good, 52-49, as the Tigers closed the game on a 20-5 run.
”(Kyle) Koncz and Lincoln, down the stretch, they hit big shots and defensively we stepped it up,” Briggs said. “I don’t think we gave them any second-chance opportunities down the stretch either, so we played good defense.”
Briggs was rotated in all game for defensive purposes, but he also converted a backdoor layup and had an assist on another. He has not turned the ball over this season. He almost doubled his minutes this weekend alone with 25 total minutes played.
”My role right now is to be that guy that comes in and plays defense,” said Briggs, an Olympia, Wash. resident. “That’s what I’m focusing on.”
As early as 12 minutes into the Harvard game, it appeared the Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson was using an offense for defense substitution with Briggs and Gunn.
”We’ve seen different guards help us out,” said Johnson after his team improved to 5-12 overall. “We have a basketball team. These guys have contributed in major ways on and off the floor. It’s nice you can see that in a basketball game and it’s showing up. It’s good for us and we just hope it continues and we get those types of contributions.”
Koncz led Princeton with 24 points against Harvard, one night and less than 24 hours after not scoring a single point and attempting only one shot in a 57-53 win over Dartmouth.
”It was a different game from last night,” said Koncz, whose 24 points was a new career high. “Last night, I only got one shot up. We had a lot in the post. I wasn’t getting open a lot. It was a whole different game. Today, in the first half, I was wide open. All the shots I shot, there wasn’t a guy within five feet. The last two weeks, we put a lot of shots up during practice. My shot feels good right now. First half, it felt really good.”
Koncz made five three-pointers in the first 20 minutes, but the Tigers trailed 33-31 as only two other PU players had as many as three points. Gunn caught fire in the final minutes of the game. After his three-pointer to open the lead for good, he got a backdoor layup, then converted another three-pointer to stretch the lead to eight.
”There were a couple big plays down the stretch where we hit some big threes here and there,” said Gunn, who had a pair of threes, including the go-ahead basket in the final 10 minutes against Dartmouth on Friday. “We got stops on defense. We made that run. Overall, it was our defensive effort. We definitely did come down and convert on offense. There were probably some backbreaker threes.”
The same Tigers who hadn’t made the plays to win games in the dirty dozen losing streak found ways to deliver on both Friday and Saturday nights.
”We’ve grown a lot, learned a lot from those games,” Gunn said. “Overall, all the effort that we’ve put in, the time that we put in is starting to pay off now. We’re starting to come together as a team and buy into the program. Everything is starting to click now.”
Just in time for the Ivy season. It’s a fresh start the Tigers were looking for, and Briggs is one of the players who has taken advantage of some increased minutes coming his way.
”I haven’t had that role, but anything I can do to help us win,” he said. “That’s the bottom line. It’s fine with me.
”In trying to find the right combination, whatever works, works,” he added. “We have our faith in him and each other. Whoever’s playing, we support.”
It’s easy to support the guys who are pushing each other in practice each day. Briggs knows full well the helpless feeling some of the Crimson players had in watching Gunn and Koncz tally 10 of the Tigers’ 12 three-point makes on the night. Briggs frequently covers one of them in practice.
”They’re tough to guard,” he said. “Lincoln has a shot where you don’t know if he’s driving or shooting. He can pull up right on you. It’s quick. And Kyle is the same way. They both freeze you. And they’re good, quick shooters.”
Princeton has come out since the exam break with a renewed confidence. They have not lost since their 18-day layoff. The Tigers will travel to Cornell on Friday and Columbia on Saturday.
”We really, really worked very hard to get where we are, and we’re not going to get too high and get too emotional,” Johnson said. “But we’ve made a lot of progress. These guys are making plays and enjoying basketball. I think that probably explains that run as much as anything. We’ve been challenged. We’ve played some very, very good teams. So I think we’re prepared for moments like this. Now we have to do it on the road. As great as it is, and let’s enjoy it tonight, it’s going to be really hard next weekend.”
Briggs is just beginning to understand the differences between the early non-conference and Ivy games.
”Compared to the preseason, it’s definitely a lot more intense,” he said. “Everyone knows each other’s stuff offensively and defensively. It’s just like who’s tougher.”
On Friday and Saturday, it was the Princeton men’s basketball team that proved toughest. Their play helped the Tigers to a 2-0 start in the Ivy League heading into an early showdown on the road at Cornell on Friday.
”It definitely helped us to play at home,” Briggs said, “kind of to get a gauge for the league and definitely send a message. I think we’ll have a hard week of practice and be ready to go.”