Junior forward provides efficient performance in Tiger sweep
By: Justin Feil
Shots take away the pain in Mike Bechtold’s injured foot.
Not medicinal shots, but three-pointers, mid-range jumpers and lay-ups. Those kinds of shots can do the trick as long as they go in.
"It’s not near 100 percent, but it’s definitely feeling better," Bechtold said of his foot. "It felt good to be out there and make some shots. When I first went in there, I didn’t know how well I could do after just a couple minutes last night. I was a little sore this afternoon. When that first shot went in I think it sort of helped everything start rolling."
Friday, Bechtold played sparingly, and was just 1-for-5 from three-point range for his only points in Princeton’s 62-48 win over Harvard. In 14 minutes of action on Saturday against Dartmouth, the junior forward connected on five of his eight shots including his first four shots in a 10-point first half to wind up with 13 points in the Tigers’ 68-52 win that swept the weekend. Bechtold was efficient from any player’s perspective, let alone a player like him who’s been prevented from even practicing.
"We’re walking a tightrope putting him in because he’s still injured," said Princeton head coach John Thompson, whose team improved to 8-3 in the Ivy League to remain in a first-place tie with Pennsylvania. "I’ve said it time and time again. He’s our best offensive weapon. On top of that it’s partly my fault that he’s been labeled as a shooter he has a calming influence over the game when he’s in there. He’s almost like my security blanket when he’s in there. I feel safe.
"He’s a very good basketball player. He makes plays. He makes the right decisions. The kid hasn’t practiced in over a month, but he puts points on the board."
If Bechtold can duplicate the sort of output he had against the Big Green, Princeton will be in better shape in their final three regular-season games. The Tigers travel to New Haven, Conn., to take on Yale on Friday before going to Providence to face Brown on Saturday in a pivotal weekend. Penn makes the same trip which means that the league’s top four teams will face each other over the next eight days. While the Quakers come to Princeton next Tuesday, Yale plays at Brown next Wednesday to conclude the Ivy season.
"The home teams are winning in this league," Thompson noted. "So hopefully we can get together and get ready to play. We have a tough week ahead of us."
The Tigers made it a tough road trip for Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend. Ahmed El-Nokali led Princeton on Friday with a career-high 23 points while Nate Walton collected a career-high 12 rebounds. Saturday Walton took scoring honors with 18 points to go with six rebounds and five assists one a dazzling behind-the-back pass to Bechtold for a lay-up.
"It was a great pass," Bechtold said. "I didn’t really expect it. Coach tells us to stay with our cuts all the way through, so I tried to stay with my cut. I was right under the basket. The next thing I knew the ball was popping in my hands. It was a great pass and it gave us a lot of momentum at that point in the game."
His conversion opened the lead over Dartmouth to 13 points, 31-18, the largest it would reach in the first half. The 6,130 fans Saturday were treated to a halftime ceremony that recognized Princeton’s 100th anniversary of men’s basketball. On hand were 74 former Tiger players, and receiving special commendation at center court were Hall of Fame coaches Butch van Breda Kolff and Pete Carril while players Bill Bradley and Geoff Petrie served as special presenters.
Bechtold said he and the players’ focus was on the game, that the coaching staff had stressed the importance of the last home weekend of the season, but Thompson admitted it was a pressure-packed situation.
"You have the celebration of 100 years of Princeton basketball, and it’s really special," the first-year PU head coach said. "It’s really special to be a small part of that. All week, personally me and my staff have been trying not to think about it, not to focus on it.
"Then you walk out and Senator Bradley’s in the audience, Brian Taylor walks by and slaps me on the back before. Coach van Breda Kolff is there. Coach Carril. A lot of great players. Then you look at the fellows and say, ‘Fellas, relax and go play.’"
Princeton put on an impressive show. The Tigers shot 51.2 percent from the field, including 10-of-24 shooting from three-point range. Bechtold’s pair of three-pointers brought his Ivy total to just four, while he’s hit 26 long bombs against non-conference opponents. His 16-point weekend was one of the best signs for Princeton yet.
In his last 13 games, Bechtold had averaged just 2.8 points per game, while going for 14.5 per game in the first eight games of the season. A starter when he was healthier in the beginning of the season, Bechtold now is trying to grasp his role as a scorer off the bench.
"Where I am now, it’s the best thing I can do," said the Lebanon, Pa. resident. "I’d rather be in the whole game, of course, but Coach has been doing a good job of putting me in there when he really needs me. I just do what Coach lets me. I get in the game and provide some points, provide some energy and some leadership out there."
Taking shots is part of Mike Bechtold’s role. Making them eases his pain, comforts John Thompson and makes Princeton a more dangerous basketball team.