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PRINCETON: PU men’s hoops drops OT decision

Penn pulls away in extra session

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   The Princeton University men’s basketball team inserted Zach Finley into the starting lineup to get them off to a better start against the University of Pennsylvania on Tuesday night at Jadwin Gym.
   What the Tigers really needed, however, was a better finish as they dropped their third game in a row, 62-55, in overtime to fall to 9-11 overall, 4-3 in the Ivy League season as the first half of it came to a close.
   Princeton bolted to an 11-point lead in the first 12 minutes of the game, but the Quakers came back to make it a two-point game at the half. Penn built on that momentum as it opened a nine-point lead 11 minutes into the second half before the Tigers rallied to force overtime.
   ”I thought we gave it a lot trying to get it back and send it into overtime,” said Finley, who responded to the start with his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 15 rebounds. “We definitely didn’t give up, I know that. I don’t know if we kind of ran out of gas in those last five minutes. We just weren’t able to get it done.”
   Finley had to remain on the court for the final 15 minutes of the game after Princeton’s Pawel Buczak, the center who also started against Penn, fouled out on back-to-back fouls within a second of each other with 10:27 left in the second half.
   ”Certainly that was a loss for us,” said Princeton coach Sydney Johnson. “This young man to my right (Finley) really stepped up, starting in the game and competing all the way through. I’m really proud of both of them.”
   The Tigers responded shortly after to an elbow by Penn’s Conor Turley that opened a cut on Patrick Saunders and earned Turley an ejection. Princeton extended a run from 3-0 to 9-0 after the flagrant foul seemed to energize it.
   ”Maybe a little bit,” Saunders said. “Plays like that, it’s a kind of a fierce rivalry out there.”
   Added Johnson: “It’s Princeton-Penn. If no one gets hurt, it’s not a Princeton-Penn game.”
   Princeton could never regain the lead it last held three minutes into the second half. The Tigers trailed, 51-46, when Douglas Davis made a 3-pointer, one of just two makes for the Tigers in the second half.
   ”I think we got wide open shots in the second half,” Johnson said. “We tried to use their ball pressure to our advantage. I like the 3-pt shots we got in the second half. They just didn’t go down.”
   Finley then made two free throws with 23 seconds left and the Tigers got a defensive stop to force overtime.
   In overtime, the Tigers went colder. They made just one shot in the first 4:38 of the extra frame. They finished overtime 2-for-8 from the floor. Penn made just one shot, but connected on 8-of-10 free throws. Those numbers were not the most alarming to the Tigers.
   ”We turned the ball over 20 times,” Johnson said. “We gave up 18 offensive rebounds. That’s a lot of second opportunities for Pennsylvania. We’re not good enough, and I don’t know too many teams that are good enough, to overcome that. It’s frustrating. At the same time, if we hold that in check, the outcome might be different. That’s what we’re going to work on for Friday and Saturday.”
   The Tigers open the second half of Ivy play against Harvard 7 p.m. tonight at Jadwin. Dartmouth visits in a 6 p.m. start Saturday. Princeton swept both on the road, and now needs to do the same to end its losing streak.
   ”We’ve come a long way,” Johnson said. “I’m not in a critical frame of mind right now. I want a consistent effort and then maybe we’ll get consistent results. We’re getting closer to having a consistent effort.”