INSIDE STUFF: Princeton University men’s basketball player Hans Brase goes up for a dunk last Sunday against visiting Rowan University. Junior forward Brase scored 13 points to help Princeton defeat Division III Rowan 96-48. The Tigers, now 8-9 overall, head into the thick of Ivy League play this weekend as they host Harvard on January 30 and Dartmouth on January 31. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Returning to action last Sunday after a 15-day exam break, the Princeton University men’s basketball team saw its game against visiting Rowan University as good prep for the Ivy League tests ahead.

“I feel like we had a really nice set of practices before we headed back into  the game,” said Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson, whose team last played on January 10 when it rallied to beat Penn 78-74 in its Ivy opener.

“It is just can we carry over what happened in the last few minutes against  Penn. That has been a big thing for us, our defense. We are glad to be back on the floor with an important week coming up.”

In cruising past the Profs on Sunday, Princeton displayed some stifling defense, going on a 26-4 run after Division III Rowan had taken an early 10-8 lead. The Tigers never looked back, cruising to a 96-48 win before a crowd of 1,774 at Jadwin Gym as they improved to 8-9 overall.

“I thought the group that came in and defended between the 14-minute mark and the five-minute mark did well, they were stuck at 10 for a little while and that is our defense,” said Henderson. “It is nice to get a win.”

Henderson got a nice offensive effort from freshman Aaron Young, who scored a career-high 15 points, going 5-of-6 from three-point range.

“Aaron is a very good shooter; I think we have a terrific shooting team and Aaron is right up there with the rest of them,” said Henderson, whose team hit on 16-of-35 three-pointers against Rowan.

“Between Clay (Wilson), Aaron, Khyan (Rayner) and Ben (Hazel), those guys are always competing for the top slot. I want Aaron to fill up the rest of the stat sheet because I think he can really shoot and now it is about doing the other things well too.”

Young, for his part, said his outburst was the product of being in the right place at the right time.

“My teammates did a great job of finding me when I was open,” said Young, a 6’0, 180-pound native of Falls Church, Va., who was the Ivy Rookie of the Week for the last week of December.

“Coach always encourages us to step in and shoot the ball with confidence and that is what I tried to do.”

Like Henderson, Young saw the game against Rowan as a good opportunity to build confidence going into Ivy play.

“Any chance we get to come out and compete against somebody else is awesome for us and we love to take advantage of it,” said Young, whose previous career high was nine points.

Junior forward Hans Brase liked the way Tigers took care of business against the Profs.

“We try to treat every game the same,” said Brase, who tallied 13 points in the victory.

“For us, it is not a league game but it is another non-conference game that we get up for. We want to win every game.”

As Princeton, 1-0 Ivy, looks ahead to hosting defending league champ Harvard (11-5 overall, 1-1 Ivy) on Friday and improving Dartmouth (8-8 overall, 1-1 Ivy) a day later, Brase knows it is crucial to get the league campaign off on a winning note.

“One of the big things is that you can’t dig a hole early,” said Brase.  “Last year we started out 0-4 and it really just killed us for the whole Ivy season. Starting off with a win against Penn this year was great but now we have to keep going into Harvard and Dartmouth and just take it one game at time and we will be alright.”

Young, for his part, believes Princeton will be on its game. “I am very excited to get the league season going,” said Young. “I know it is a grind like all of the older guys have said. I think we are ready and I am looking forward to it.”

Noting that Dartmouth upset Harvard last Saturday, Henderson realizes that Princeton is looking at two big challenges in the Big Green and Crimson.

“It is a really tough weekend,” said Henderson. “Dartmouth had a huge win there yesterday. I told our guys, they are good and don’t think for a second that Harvard isn’t really good because they are. It is an important week but I think we have been making some big strides everyday in practice. This is a sum of the parts team. These guys have been getting tired of me saying it but they have to be so focused on each other’s success. As long as we keep doing that, we have a chance.”