Web Exclusives: Basketball game story Princeton vs. Rutgers 12/13/03

December 16, 2003

Logan’s shot, Tigers’ hopes fall short at Rutgers
By Brett Tomlinson

With two knee surgeries and a hand injury in the past three years, Andre Logan ’04 has seen his share of time on the Princeton bench. So his slow start this season – no field goals and just five points in three appearances – should not have been surprising.

But in the Tigers’ December 13 game at Rutgers, Logan showed some of the moves that made him a 9.9 points per game scorer in 15 games during the last two seasons. He hit five of his first six shots, including four in a row, and when he took a fast break pass from Will Venable ’05 with three seconds left, he showed no hesitation, dribbling toward the lane and pulling up for a 14 foot jumper.

“I thought it was good,” Logan said after the game. But the shot, like the Tigers, came up just short, bouncing off the front of the rim at the buzzer to seal a 51-49 Rutgers win.

Princeton fought back from an eight-point deficit at the half and executed two perfect plays in the final 30 seconds – an open lay-up by Ed Persia ’04, who lost his man on a double screen, and a Logan basket off a perfect feed from Persia – to set up the final shot.

Persia’s 11 points and seven assists with just one turnover kept the Tigers close despite an uncharacteristically slow afternoon from star center Judson Wallace ’05. Wallace managed only five points, after averaging 22.8 in the first five games, while committing six turnovers and one technical foul.
Coach John Thompson III ’88, who assured reporters that the technical was a one-time mistake, said that Wallace’s scoring output is not the only measure of his impact. “He’s going to have games when he doesn’t score,” Thompson said, “but he was just a little out of kilter tonight. It was just one of those games.”

At the start, it looked like Rutgers was having “one of those games.” The Scarlet Knights turned the ball over on each of their first five possessions, allowing Princeton to take an 8-0 lead. But when junior guard Ricky Shields found his rhythm, Rutgers quickly took the lead. Shields finished with a game-high 13 points.

Rutgers also played well on the defensive end, pushing the Tigers in the post with a bruising, Big East pugnacity. The Tigers pushed back, and Logan said he didn’t mind the shoving.

“It was very physical, but that’s basketball. That’s how it should be played,” Logan said. “Everyone thinks we’re soft, but we’re not. We’re tough. We weren’t whining.”

When Princeton ran its offense, strong passing led to open shots – 16 of the Tigers’ 19 field goals were assisted – and Venable took advantage of a few rare transition opportunities early in the second half. Mike Stephens ’05 also filled in admirably in Wallace’s center spot, scoring four points with strong post moves.

But the Tigers missed their share of open looks, sinking just five three-pointers on 21 attempts. They were also 6-for-14 from the free-throw line.

The loss dropped Princeton to 4-2, and after an impressive win in front of more than 14,000 fans at Fresno State, the Tigers lost some valuable momentum heading into what could be its toughest test of the season. On December 17, the Tigers face No. 3 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Wallace, while disappointed after the Rutgers game, acknowledged that he is not likely to score 20 points in every game and affirmed his confidence in his teammates. “Top to bottom, we have an athletically competitive team,” he said. “But the key to us winning is going to be keeping the offense running.”