Tigers snap losing streak with win over Loyola
By: Justin Feil
In Harrison Schaen, Baltimore has a believer in its motto: the greatest city in America.
Schaen is a West Coast guy and no doubt enjoyed the Princeton University men’s basketball team’s two-game swing in his home state of California. Yet, the freshman forward is finding a second home not in Old Nassau, but in Baltimore.
Schaen, who scored the first two points of his career in the Tiger men’s basketball team’s 68-56 win over University of Maryland-Baltimore County in December, had career highs of seven points, three rebounds and two steals in 11 quality minutes in a 74-54 win over Loyola in the Tigers’ return to Baltimore on Monday.
"It was great," said Schaen, who was a part of two California state championship teams at Mater Dei High and has a high school teammate, D.J. Strawberry, who plays for the University of Maryland. "I was able to get in there, make one or two mistakes and come back and do something good. It was a confidence booster. I was able to get ahold of some things and get used to playing."
The win was also a confidence booster for the Tigers. The win snapped a three-game losing streak just in time as they head west to take on Oklahoma 5 p.m. Saturday in a game that will be televised on ESPN 2. In the No. 8 Sooners, Princeton will find quite a different level of play from Loyola, which dropped its 22nd consecutive game Monday. The Tigers improved to 5-4.
"That keeps things interesting," Schaen said of the different levels of opponents. "When we played Duke, we were right in the game in the first half, then in the second half, I don’t know what happened. Like our coach says, the name on the jerseys is just the name on the jerseys."
So far this season, Schaen’s jersey has been rather spotless, though he has seen more action recently. He had a previous high of four minutes against Rutgers before breaking into double digits in minutes against Loyola. But Schaen hasn’t regretted his time on the bench.
"Nothing’s been tough," he said. "I’ve been watching what I should be doing. Watching the experienced players, I’ve been able to pick it up. The toughest part is just being a little anxious to do my thing."
Like most freshmen, Schaen has had to adjust to college and to the new Princeton-style offense that he wasn’t exposed to much as a California resident. As he becomes more comfortable in his first year at Old Nassau, he hopes to be able to contribute more.
"This is a brand new offense for me," he said. "And you have to get used to everyone’s style of play. In practice, the coaches talk you through it and make sure you know where you’re going. It hasn’t been as tough as I expected it to be. But it’s a matter of getting on the court and doing it there.
"It seemed like we ran the same stuff when I was in there," he added. "I was in there with all the older guys and they can direct me when I’m lost. But for the most part, I was able to stick with it."
It was Princeton’s veterans who took command and helped the Tigers forge an 18-point halftime lead. Senior co-captain Ed Persia had 13 of his game-high 22 points in the first half. Junior co-captain Judson Wallace came off his season-worst shooting performance in a loss to Lafayette with 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting and a game-high nine rebounds. Princeton had a season-low six turnovers on the heels of a 14-turnover showing against Lafayette. Monday’s offensive performance against Loyola lifts the Tigers’ spirits going into their second matchup with Oklahoma in as many years.
"Winning is definitely a confidence booster," Schaen said. "Going into this game, we were on a losing streak. We needed this game to pick up our confidence. It was nice to get everyone in and a chance to play. That was really great.
"I think the break was good for us," he added. "We’ve had so much basketball, we kind of needed a break and then after a couple days, we needed to get back to it. We didn’t come back sloppy at all. We had some good practices. We came back more intense and guys’ legs were rested."
Schaen wasn’t used to much of a break. At Mater Dei, his high school team began preparing for the season in July. Here, practices couldn’t begin until October, but in the meantime, the responsibility of weightlifting and adjusting to the bigger, quicker and stronger players took more time than Schaen expected. But not everything took as long as he anticipated with his new squad.
"I thought it was going to take longer as people meshed together," he said. "But as soon as we got here, immediately we started to get along. We got to know how each other played and got a court sense for each other. That was real important. I didn’t know much about the offense because I hadn’t seen a lot of Princeton games before I came. With all the reading your defense, it’s a lot different than just running to a spot like a robot. It’s really effective and it’s nice to have that freedom."
Schaen feels suited for that style, though he’s at his best on the run.
"In a sense, I go where the wind blows," he said. "On defense, you have to make turnovers and fast break. That’s my game creating turnovers and getting on fast breaks. On offense, you have to use your quickness for cutting, so that works out nicely for me."
With the win over Loyola, Schaen had the opportunity to show more what he’s capable of doing. He’s established himself behind Max Schafer and Luke Owings as the freshmen most capable of contributing this season. And Schaen is anxious to show what he can, not just against the lowest RPI team in the country, Loyola, but one of the best in Oklahoma.
"I love the tougher games," Schaen said. "I love played against Duke. I love to play against Oklahoma and Minnesota."
Last year, Princeton faced Oklahoma in just the second game of the season and lost by 19 points. The Sooners improved to 9-0 with a 72-57 win over Texas-Pan American on Monday. Princeton will again face a physical Oklahoma team as it looks for its sixth win of the season.
The Tigers are hoping their second trip to Norman, Okla., in two years goes as well as Harrison Schaen’s second time in Baltimore this season did Monday. It’s not nearly as large a place as Baltimore, but it’s closer to home for the Huntingdon Beach, Calif. resident, and a win Saturday could make it another favorite place to visit for Schaen and the Tigers to visit.