THROWBACK: Princeton University men’s basketball player Henry Caruso drives to the basket in a game last winter. Last Saturday, junior forward Caruso tallied a game-high 23 points as Princeton topped Saint Peter’s 75-72 at Dillon Gym. It was the first game at the venerable venue for the Tigers since January 11, 1969. Princeton, now 2-0, returns to action and Jadwin Gym on November 25 when it hosts Lafayette. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Bill Bradley took over many a game at Dillon Gym to thwart visiting foes during his legendary career with the Princeton University men’s basketball team in the 1960s.

Last Saturday, when Princeton played its first game at the venerable venue since January 11, 1969, Henry Caruso did his best imitation of the iconic Bradley.

After scoring just three points in the first half against Saint Peter’s, Tiger junior forward Caruso exploded for 20 points in the second half to help Princeton pull out a 75-72 win over the Peacocks, before a crowd of 1,306 packing the old gym, and improve to 2-0.

Caruso and and his teammates felt a sense of history as they took the floor at Dillon, wearing throwback orange uniforms and drawing inspiration from a revved up student section standing on one side of the gym and a number of Princeton hoops alums seated courtside.

“We loved it; it was great to come back to Dillon and play,” said Caruso. “It meant so much to coach (Mitch Henderson) and seeing so many guys that played before us come back that we really look up to. Obviously seeing coach (Pete) Carril here tonight, he is always around us every game. It was great to have a compact venue, I thought we really fed off of that.”

In reflecting on his second half outburst, Caruso said it came down to harnessing that emotion.

“It was just settling down, I think all of us came out maybe a little too anxious,” said Caruso, who went 7-of-9 from the floor and 9-of-12 from the line in piling up his 23 points, matching his career-high.

“But once we settled down and got a good rhythm, we were able to attack the basket more and get to the free throw line and that ultimately really helped us.”

With senior star Hans Brase sidelined for the season with a knee injury, Caruso and his teammates know they have to stick together to pull out wins,

“As a unit, we all try to look for each other; we all try to play solidly together,” said Caruso.

“I am really bummed for Hans, he is a great friend of mine. Like coach said, we have to treat every day like it is our last day and keep getting better.”

It took a solid effort down the stretch for Princeton to subdue Saint Peter’s as the Peacocks narrowed the gap to two points on three occasions in the last  minute of regulation.

“It seemed like every time we were about to break away, they made a big shot or just answered us,” said Caruso.

“I think for us it was just staying patient and staying confident, trusting the coaches’ scouting report and just staying aggressive. That was the main key that helped us get a win tonight.”

Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson acknowledged that his team was lucky to survive with a win in the return to Dillon, which was the program’s home from 1947-69.

“I thought we were caught up in the moment a little bit tonight,” said Henderson.

“Saint Peter’s played very well, I think they are good. They could easily be 4-0 (instead of 1-3). We feel like we still had the lids on the rims a little bit with some of our guys.”

For Henderson, the moment was special as the Dillon game was his brainchild and he noted that it would not have been possible without the cooperation of Saint Peter’s coach John Dunne.

“Look, this was a long time in the making for us, it was four years of trying to get this to happen,” said Henderson.

“I want to first thank Saint Peter’s and John Dunne for being willing to play in Dillon Gym, a place where you haven’t played college basketball in 46 years. The facilities are different, everything has changed like elevator access, handicap access. It was a lot of different moving parts and John was willing to move the game to 9 p.m.”

Wearing an orange and black striped jacket, Henderson, a 1998 Princeton alum and former Tiger basketball star, did his part to add to the throwback feel of the evening.

“I loved it, the atmosphere was great,” said Henderson. “It is the first year; I think we are going to get some things right. I thought it was great. I think our guys loved it, all the guys wore short shorts and I put a funny coat on. We were just all trying to own the moment. It is the 1983 reunions jacket, reunions are a big deal here and I borrowed it from somebody. That is a cool looking jacket and I thought it was in the spirit of the uniforms we had on tonight.”

Henderson loved the way Caruso came through as he contributed eight rebounds, a block, and an assist to go with his 23 points.

“Henry really saved us in a lot of different ways,” maintained Henderson. “He did everything right. He is less whirling dervish this year and more dervish. He is getting us into situations where we can be successful. He is giving confidence to the other guys. Most importantly, I asked him to improve on his defense and he has done that. Everything we have asked him to do, he has done, He had a huge play, No. 35 had a wide open look at the basket and Henry was just up there. He is really bouncy, he has the ability to get up into the air. I thought he was terrific. He made his free throws when we couldn’t seem to find a free throw.”

Although Henderson was thrilled to see Caruso produce a huge individual effort, he knows that balance is the key for the Tigers, especially in the absence of Brase.

“We don’t talk about stepping up, what we talk about is just being more consistent together,” said Henderson, who got 12 points from Amir Bell in the win with Pete Miller chipping in nine points and eight rebounds and Jackson Forbes coming off the bench with nine points on three 3-pointers.

“Losing Hans is now kind of ancient history. We miss him but we have got to go, we have got to move on. We have very capable parts and we just have to be us. When we are at our best, everybody is firing on all cylinders.”

With Princeton having pulled out a 64-56 win at Rider in its opener, Henderson liked the way his team came through in a second close call to start the season.

“I am not that into lessons, I want to win, but it is another good game,” said Henderson.

“You responded, there are a lot of things that happened in the game where you are learning to make the plays that make you win so I am pleased with that.”

Caruso, for his part, had no qualms with winning ugly. “It wasn’t always pretty but we will take a win,” said Caruso. “We play Lafayette on Wednesday so hopefully we can keep it rolling.”