HAPPY TO HELP: Princeton University men’s basketball player CJ Happy displays his intensity at the defensive end in a game earlier this season. Last Wednesday, freshman forward Happy scored a game-high and career-high 18 points to help Princeton defeat Division III Nazareth 99-63. The Tigers, who improved to 6-3 with the win, were slated to play at Saint Joseph’s on December 3 before playing at Furman on December 7 and hosting Monmouth on December 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

CJ Happy provided the Princeton University men’s basketball team with a major highlight as it wrapped up play at the Myrtle Beach Invitational.

After Princeton lost its first two games at the event in Conway, S.C., falling 80-62 to Wright State and 83-80 to Texas State, freshman forward Happy erupted for a game-high 16 points to help the Tigers defeat Portland 94-67 on November 24 to end the weekend on a high note.

“It was definitely a confidence builder,” said Happy, who came into the Portland game with just one point in seven games. “It was just getting out there and getting my feel and getting some more experience under my belt. I think that was really helpful.”

Late Wednesday, Happy built on that performance, scoring a game-high and career-high 18 points to help Princeton defeat Division III Nazareth 99-63.

“Going into today, coach (Mitch Henderson) gave us a lot of confidence with the bigs specifically,” said the 6’9, 226-pound Happy, a native of Sterling, Mass. “It was letting us shoot the ball a little bit that really helped me.”

Princeton head coach Henderson is not surprised to see Happy playing with more confidence.

“We have seen it in practices, he makes shots every single day,” said Henderson, whose team improved to 6-3 with win over Nazareth. “He is a great shooter. What I love is how much his teammates enjoy seeing him do well.”

Henderson loves the versatility Happy can provide for the Tiger offense.

“CJ is very hard on himself, we want him to be the best version of himself going into each game,” said Henderson, who got 16 points from freshman Peyton Seals against Nazareth with seniors Philip Byriel and freshman Jack Stanton contributing 12 points each. “The more opportunities he is getting to play, it was 14 minutes against Portland, it was 15 minutes tonight, he is performing and contributing. Now the stakes go up, the level of competition goes way up. He is ready for that but he just needs to do it and be in it. It really makes us difficult to guard when you have that kind of shooting at the big man spot.”

In Henderson’s view, the Tigers gained some valuable lessons from the difficult weekend in South Carolina.

“Myrtle Beach was a great experience for us,” said Henderson, whose team was slated to play at Saint Joseph’s on December 3 before playing at Furman on December 7 and hosting Monmouth on December 10. “We haven’t been punched the way we got punched by Wright State in a really long time and then had a really difficult loss against Texas State. We had a nice rebound in the seventh place game against Portland. It was real eye-opening for us. We haven’t had many practices. We got back later Monday and we haven’t a chance to do much. We needed to just play and go run, get it out of our systems and smile. It was a really long trip.”

Getting the production on the perimeter from Happy and Byriel makes Henderson smile.

“We are difficult to match up against in some levels because of the Cade [Pierce]/Xaivian [Lee]/Dalen [Davis] piece,” said Henderson. “When you have a shooting five out there, we like those combinations. We have to find a group that works against every team that we are going to be seeing. Phil getting confident and shooting the way he shot tonight, that really helps us. Our numbers offensively are fine. We have to continue to guard. We have three bigs to do that, we are going to figure out every way we can do it.”

While the game with the Division III Golden Flyers was a mismatch, Henderson felt the Tigers needed the contest as they gird for away tests at Saint Joseph’s and Furman.

“It is difficult to find home games, I did not want to be traveling again,” said Henderson. “We needed to play right before Thanksgiving, it is not ideal. We needed a home game, I am thankful to Nazareth for being able to play. Now it is just know-how. You have to go on the road against an athletic Saint Joe’s team. You have to go through those things. We may fail at those things but we have got to have those experiences together as a group. It is great challenge for us.”

Happy, for his part, believes things are coming together for him as he gets up to speed in his first college campaign.

“For me, I had a small knee procedure done over the summer,” said Happy. “Just coming back, I feel every single game, every single time I step out on the court, it is just getting more and more comfortable. I am starting to get back into it.”