Web Exclusives: From the Cheap Seats
a PAW web exclusive column by Matt Golden '94 (email: golden2@erols.com)

March 7, 2001

Tigers take all
Men’s basketball claims Ivy crown, NCAA bid with 68-52 win over Penn

By Matt Golden

It was an emotional end to a near miraculous season. After seven months of losses — a coach and most of their starters from last year — the Tigers won where it counted, on the floor of Jadwin Gym, beating Penn by 16 points for the Ivy League crown no one thought they could earn.

The convincing win avoided a one-game playoff and bought Princeton a ticket to the NCAA’s big dance, its first appearance in the national tournament since 1998. Tournament play begins Thursday, March 15.

Sophomore forward Kyle Wente opened the scoring for Princeton with a three-point bomb, but the Quakers knocked down a pair of threes of their own to claim an early lead. Sloppy play and poor shooting by both teams kept the score close until the Tigers made a brief run. Junior forward Mike Bechtold and freshman Konrad Wysocki came off the Tiger bench and buried three consecutive three-pointers to give Princeton a 21-18 advantage. Moments after the Tigers’ long-range barrage, Princeton freshman Andre Logan emphatically rejected the shot of Penn forward Koko Archibong, bringing the crowd to a frenzy and a brief smile to the face of first-year, Princeton head coach John Thompson III ’88.

Thompson quickly concealed the grin, even as the Tigers extended their lead to eight on another three-pointer, this time from senior guard C.J. Chapman. And once again Princeton negated the Quakers’ height advantage, drawing a stalemate on the glass — equaling Penn’s total of 13 first-half rebounds — en route to a 31-26 half-time lead.
The Quakers rattled off five straight points to start the second-half and drew even with Princeton at 31-31. But undersized, senior center Nate Walton came up big for the Tigers in his final home game. Walton owned the backboards during the second-half — grabbing five important caroms as Princeton stretched its lead — and thoroughly dominated Penn’s talented front line of six-foot, 11-inch Geoff Owens and 1999-2000 Ivy League Rookie of the Year Ugonna Onyekew. Walton tallied nine points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and six steals on the night while controlling the paint. Owens said of Walton’s effort, “He played an unbelievable game. I take my hat off to him.”

Behind Walton’s inspired play and some red-hot shooting (the Tigers canned 11-20 threes on night and shot 55 percent from the floor), Princeton exploded for a 24-6 run in the second-half. That spurt gave the Tigers a 59-40 lead with 4:34 left in the game and ended the Quakers’ two-year championship run.

With just under two minutes remaining and the championship decided, Thompson emptied his bench and let the smile return to his face — this time for good. After the game — and a brief dousing of Gatorade from Walton — Thompson gushed, “The cupboard wasn’t as bare as some of you guys thought it was,” before adding, “It means a lot that we are sitting here right now.” And having won a title in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, Thompson may be grinning for quite some time — or at least until the tournament selection committee announces the Tigers’ next foe, this Sunday.

Matt Golden is PAW’s assistant editor. You can reach Matt Golden at golden2@erols.com