RISING STAR: Princeton High boys’ basketball player Michael Bess Jr. floats with the ball in a game last season. Junior guard Bess has emerged as the go-to scorer for the Tigers this winter, averaging a team-high 20.0 points a game. PHS, who moved to 2-7 with a 60-44 win over Pioneer Academy last Saturday, plays at Robbinsville on January 16 and at WW/P-North on January 21. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Michael Bess Jr. was part of the supporting cast last winter in his sophomore season for the Princeton High boys’ basketball team.

Making his varsity debut, Bess was the third leading scorer for the Tigers behind senior stars Jahan Owusu and Jihad Wilder.

This winter, Bess has assumed a leading role for PHS, averaging a team-high 20.0 points per game.

“It is a big change because we had a lot more scorers last year,” said Bess, who averaged 7.8 points a game last year. “It is a really young team this year. I just come out as a leader and look to attack and to score for our team. I try to knock down shots and do whatever I have got to do to help us win.”

Last Thursday as the Tigers hosted Lawrence High, Bess scored 15 points in the first half the rivals battled to 22-22 stalemate by halftime.

“We came out good, firing from the start, and playing good,” said Bess. “I was trying to come out hot, attack, and try to get to the basket. I hit a couple of threes but I was looking to get to the basket more and get myself into the game. We were looking to battle and get a win. This is a good team and we believed we could beat them.”

The game got away from PHS as it got outscored 19-7 in the third quarter on the way to a 64-49 defeat.

“In the second half, we knew they were going to pressure us, they came out and pressured us and we started to turn it over,” said Bess, who ended up with 21 points in the loss. “Once they came out and started getting ahead, that was when we realized that we needed to get it back. We really, really wanted to win. We started to battle back. We started getting aggressive and we started getting steals.”

Over the offseason, Bess took an aggressive approach in honing his game.

“I worked a lot of ball handling because I knew I was going to be the main ball handler this year, said Bess, who scored 26 points and had 10 rebounds as PHS defeated Pioneer Academy 60-44 last Saturday to bounce back from the loss to Lawrence. “I worked on my shot. I worked on my game overall, everything really. I knew I was going to have a bigger role so I had to step up to lead the team.”

PHS head coach Pat Noone credits Bess with stepping up this winter.

“Michael Bess is awesome; he can score, he has been really, really great,” said Noone. “From his freshman year all the way up, he has worked really hard and we are seeing it translate. He is really working his tail off and doing good things with his confidence and his ability to attack off the dribble and get to the foul line. Last year, it was lot more threes, this year it is a lot of everything.”

Noone saw some good things from his squad in the early stages of the game against Lawrence.

“The first half was great, we played really, really well and their pressure just wore us down,” said Noone. “It came down to pressure, they got into us a little bit. They ‘out-physicaled’ us a little bit off the ball. We threw it around a little bit and that was it.”

The Tigers did show some fight in the fourth quarter as they scrapped on the defensive end and scored 20 points.

“We kept battling,” said Noone. “We got a couple of turnovers there that was fun for everybody to get a little excited about that.”

Although PHS is off to a 2-7 start, Noone is excited about the progress he is seeing from his players.

“They are getting better every day, I think that is the really important thing,” said Noone, whose team plays at Robbinsville on January 16 and at WW/P-North on January 21. “You can see it on film. They come in, everybody works their tail off in practice. Unfortunately it is not translating into the results but it is translating into getting better.”

The quartet of junior Zion Madden, junior Matt Ghaim, sophomore Michael Frenia, and senior Travis Petrone has been making strides this winter.

“Zion is really stepping up and Matt is stepping up,” said Noone. “Michael is a lacrosse player who hasn’t played a lot of basketball and he is really starting to find his niche out there now. Travis has been a good leader for us.”

Looking ahead, Noone believes that the Tigers will find their niche collectively.

“I think it is just keep doing what you are doing, keep working your tails off,” said Noone. “It just comes later on. It is a young team, the more we are in situations, the better off we will be.”

In the view of Bess, taking some lessons from the loss to Lawrence can help PHS be better down the road.

“We have the skill,” said Bess. “We were competing with them in the beginning of the game but then we just let off the gas.”