STEPPING UP: Princeton University men’s basketball player Xaivian Lee flies in for a layup during a game earlier this season. Last Monday, junior guard Lee scored a game-clinching 3-pointer in the waning seconds as Princeton rallied from a 20-point deficit to edge Columbia 71-67. Two days earlier, Lee drained the game-winning 3-pointer in an 81-80 win over Dartmouth. The Tigers, now 14-4 overall and 3-0 Ivy League, host Cornell on January 25. (Photo by Steven Wojtowicz)

By Bill Alden

Xaivian Lee displayed a flair for the dramatic last weekend for the Princeton University men’s basketball team.

On Saturday, junior guard Lee drained a game-winning step back 3-pointer as Princeton edged Dartmouth 81-80.

Two days later against visiting Columbia, it was a case of déjà vu as Lee fired in a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in regulation to put Princeton up 69-67 on the way to a 71-67 win, capping a furious comeback as the Tigers rallied from a 20-point deficit.

Afterward, Lee calmly described the play that sent the throng of 3,811 packing Jadwin Gym into an uproar on a day which saw Princeton trailing 33-13 in the first half and 57-38 with 7:46 left in regulation.

“It was drawn up as a keeper for Cade (Caden Pierce) and they both kind of went with him so he made the right read and hit me,” recalled Lee. “I had a good matchup. I missed three of them before on him earlier but I knew I was going to get a clean look and I was bound to hit one. My shot felt pretty good the entire game despite missing every shot pretty much. I just try to shoot each one like I didn’t miss the last one. Obviously making it against Dartmouth gives me a little more confidence in those situation. I try to treat it like the end of one-on-one in our practice and just shoot it like any other shot.”

While the fantastic finish makes the third time this season that Princeton has overcome at least a 15-point deficit to win a game, Lee acknowledged that the Tigers can’t make that a habit.

“We have to stop putting ourselves in that position, I don’t even know how we win that game to be honest,” said Lee who shot 8 of 26 but nearly achieved a triple double as he tallied 19 points with nine rebounds and nine assists. “In those last four or five minutes, we started hitting shots, we started getting stops. In that home gym, we had that energy that carries us a little bit.”

Despite the deficit, Lee and his teammates always believed they would come through with the win.

“It starts from the top, coach (Mitch Henderson) says we are always winning, no matter the situation,” said Lee. “He wasn’t saying that as much today. We always think we are going to win, it is 40 minutes of basketball. I thought it was unlucky that we came out and missed 10 straight threes to start the game. I thought eventually we were going to hit shots.”

Princeton head coach Henderson wasn’t sure what to think after his team’s stunning rally.

“We have no real business winning that game,” said Henderson, whose team improved to 14-4 overall and 3-0 Ivy. “Columbia was just terrific, they were faster than us in every part of the game. We were on our heels, I don’t know how we won that game.”

At halftime, Henderson tried to remain calm. “There was nothing to get mad about that, I have already done that with this team about 18 times,” said Henderson. “We talk a lot about how you are going to get back in the game. We have plenty of experience with that this season, it is just chip away. That is the message. We are going to have to be really smart about how we go about it.”

While Henderson couldn’t explain exactly how the Tigers overcame Columbia, he pointed to the squad’s camaraderie as a key factor in its ability to deal with adversity.

“We have had some great wins but that one was unbelievable,” said Henderson, who got 21 points from junior forward Pierce in the win with senior guard Blake Peters scoring 14 points, including a pair of clutch 3-pointers down the stretch and two free throws to cap the scoring. “You have to get lucky sometimes. There is something in the air with the way a team treats one another. I think we treat each other well. There are good vibes. They believe they are going to win. We talk about it a lot.”

Henderson got a good vibe from freshman reserve guard Jack Stanton, who was inserted late in the game and turned out to be an unsung hero, nailing a 3-pointer as the Tigers narrowed the Columbia lead to 62-58.

“Jack Stanton hasn’t been playing at all this season, but he is a hell of a player,” said Henderson. “He has got lots of fire and spunk. He came in and he was plus 18. He had two big turnovers and a huge three. He destroys our team every day in practice. I am the knucklehead that doesn’t play him. I was looking for him to do what he does against us and he did it.”

Stanton, for his part, got that message from Henderson as he subbed in with 5:40 left in the game and hit the key 3-pointer minutes later.

“When I got checked in, coach comes up to me and whispers in my ear ‘shoot it,’” said Stanton. “I had to put it up or else I wouldn’t have another chance. I got open, someone set me a good screen and I came off it and saw the rim.”

Stanton was ready to shine when he got his chance. “Every day me and the other freshmen are in the gym early, working out,” said Stanton. “We know that we are not going to play that much but we are just waiting for our time to show. When we are in there, we are going to play our hardest.”

Henderson, for this part, is determined to get his squad to play harder from the start.

“We lack urgency early in games, I have never been through it before with a team,” said Henderson, whose team hosts Cornell (10-6 overall, 2-1 Ivy) on January 25. “We are working hard at it together and we are going to figure it out. It is nice to win these games. I don’t think it is sustainable, but I would rather be lucky than good. We have lots to work on, we have a really good Cornell team coming in on Saturday. It is going to be a hard one.”

While Lee has gotten the message, he also enjoys a little drama when necessary.

“We got bailed out by winning it, I have got a lot to work on,” said Lee. “I think we can be so much better but it is special that we still found a way to win in game like that.”