OPENING STATEMENT: Princeton University men’s basketball player Xaivian Lee soars to the hoop for a layup in recent action. Last Saturday, junior star guard Lee scored a game-high 22 points to help Princeton defeat Harvard 68-64 in the Ivy League opener for both teams. The Tigers, now 12-4 overall and 1-0 Ivy, play at Dartmouth (7-7 overall, 1-0 Ivy) on January 18 before hosting Columbia (11-3 Ivy, 0-1 Ivy) on January 20. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Justin Feil

Road games in the course of an arduous Ivy League men’s basketball campaign are never easy.

Add in some injuries and illness and the Princeton University men’s hoops team had a test of its toughness, making it pleased to get out of Boston with a 68-64 win at Harvard in its Ivy season opener last Saturday. It marked Princeton’s seventh straight win over the Crimson.

“It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done,” said Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson, whose team improved to 12-4 overall. “I think what did it for us was that little stretch in the second half where we got it to 11. We had some really costly turnovers there at the end that allowed them to get back into the game, but Dalen [Davis] made a couple of key free throws.”

Junior star guard Xaivian Lee was the only Princeton player to score in double figures on the day, tallying a game-high 22 points to offset a balanced Harvard attack. Lee wasn’t 100 percent and neither were sophomore guard Davis and junior forward Caden Pierce, who had nine points apiece while both played 37 minutes each.

“I think the league is just really, really even,” said Henderson. “So any road win, to get off to a 1-0 start, that’s good. We’ve also been a little banged up. Caden sprained his ankle against Akron and then Dalen had food poisoning or was just under the weather. So glad to get a win with those factors.”

The Tigers are OK with a week off between games just to try to get back to 100 percent. Princeton returns to action, again on the road, when they play at Dartmouth on Saturday, January 18. They’ll turn around then to host Columbia in a Martin Luther King Day matinee on January 20 in their Ivy home opener.

“We need it,” said Henderson of the break. “These weeklong preparations are long, but then it kind of starts to build up really quickly. We get these back-to-backs coming in late January and February. But 1-0, that’s our goal. Our goal each game is to be 1-0. That thinking has served us really well.”

Sophomore guard Jackson Hicke and senior guard Blake Peters helped give the Tigers a 14-4 scoring edge off the bench over Harvard. Princeton built a 37-33 halftime lead and never trailed in the second half although there were some nail-biting moments in the final minutes against Harvard’s press defense.

Princeton built a buffer in the middle of the second half. A Peters 3-pointer pushed them to a 58-47 advantage with 9:12 left. The Tigers largely kept Harvard at bay right until the final minutes.

“Blake made an off-the-dribble three that I thought was crucial and we strung together three stops in a row at one point,” said Henderson. “I think it went from seven to 11 and I think that was the difference in the game. They got it back to seven but we kept our poise in that moment. I would say the group’s a bit casual for me, but that’s kind of what makes them good is they have confidence in their ability to get it done.”

After Harvard trimmed the lead to 58-53, Lee hit a layup with just under seven minutes left. Lee has been tough for the Crimson to stop. Last year, he had 60 points combined in their two games, and he played well again on Saturday, shooting 8 for 13, including 3 for 5 from beyond the arc, and recording a pair of assists.

“He was playing with less than a full tank,” said Henderson of Lee. “He was just really wiped out by some kind of a bug or food poisoning so for him to have 22 and have some key buckets for us was unexpected and great. He pushed through it. He’s a big shot maker and he wants to take those shots.”

Pierce’s return also gave the Tigers a lift. He hadn’t played since injuring his ankle against Akron on December 30. He led Princeton with eight rebounds and four assists. Princeton had been preparing to play without him if his ankle didn’t improve for the Ivy opener.

“We weren’t sure honestly, all the way leading up to yesterday,” said Henderson. “I thought he was terrific and he came up with some gigantic rebounds as Cade does. We would have had to step up in his absence, but he was great. We’re thankful that he worked so hard and our trainer was just awesome getting him back to being able to play.”

Davis didn’t shoot well from the floor (2 for 12), but was perfect from the foul line (4 for 4). He made a pair of free throws with 2:35 left for an 11-point lead before things got interesting.

“The way that game went, we need to be just a little sharper in that little three-and-a-half minute stretch,” said Henderson. “But it’s nice to get a win and then still think about that.”

Harvard nailed a 3-pointer to start a late rally. Pierce and Lee each made a free throw apiece, but the Tigers needed a pair of free throws from Davis with 13 seconds left after Harvard had narrowed the gap to two points at 66-64. Princeton held Harvard to 42 percent shooting for the game and only allowed two second-chance points. Their defensive efforts might have looked even more impressive if not for allowing 10 points off turnovers and giving up some late free throws.

“For the most part, we were on top of the scout,” said Henderson. “The score would have been lower if we didn’t foul them down the stretch. We did a good job of not fouling throughout the course of the game. I thought that our turnovers were going to be the key in the game and then we had 10 — I would have liked to have had eight — but I think we might have had three there right at the very end. Those hurt you. It’s not perfect, but we’re making progress.”

Princeton leaned on its non-conference experience to pull out another close win. It beat Rutgers and Akron each by a point in the final lead-up to the Ivy season. The Tigers took the lessons from their non-conference schedule to prepare for tight Ivy contests and that paid off against Harvard.

“We played a lot of guys, so we were playing generally 10 guys, which is a lot more guys than I normally have played,” said Henderson. “And we’re confident in and have gotten contributions from deeper in the bench. We didn’t do that a ton today, but we can do it. And then we had some real lows and highs, and we played really close games. I think that’s really a good thing. That helps you in the long run, just playing close games. It’ll be nice to be able to work a whole week’s worth of prep with being 1-0.”

Looking ahead to Saturday, Henderson knows that Princeton faces another road test when it takes on an improved Dartmouth squad in Hanover, N.H. The Big Green opened their Ivy season with a 73-70 win at home over Penn on Saturday. It was their third straight win to improve to 7-7 overall.

“They have the kid, Ryan Cornish, who has given us a hard time,” said Henderson, whose team swept Dartmouth last year on its way to the Ivy regular season title. “He had 30 points and maybe six assists two years ago. They play a style that is very disciplined. You really have to beat them. You have to be really sharp going up there. It’s a tough, smaller sort of environment, but you really have to be ready with your will to win. They’ve got us up there a couple times in the last few years, so we’ll have to be very sharp.”