HOME COOKING: Princeton University men’s basketball player Steven Cook dribbles past a foe in recent action. Last Saturday, Sophomore guard Cook notched career highs in both points (28) and steals (7) to help Princeton rally to a 77-64 win over visiting Stony Brook. The Tigers, who improved to 3-6 with the victory, play at St. Peter’s on December 10 and at California on December 13. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Steven Cook broke into a laugh as he was greeted by his teammates on the Princeton University men’s basketball team when a timeout was called with 1:38 left in its contest last Saturday against Stony Brook.

Sophomore guard Cook had plenty of reason to chuckle, having notched career highs in both points (28) and steals (7) to spark a second half rally which saw Princeton overcome a 55-48 deficit to pull away to a 77-64 win over the Seawolves and improve to 3-6 before 1,968 at Jadwin Gym.

In reflecting on his offensive outburst, Cook said it was the product of spending some extra time in the gym.

“I have been working on it, I have been getting in with the coaches,” said Cook, who hit 7-of-11 shots from the field, including 4-of-6 beyond the arc as he doubled his previous career-high of 14 points. “It is good to see results, it is good to see your work pay off.”

Cook may have been happier with his effort at the defensive end as he came within one steal of tying the program’s single-game record.

“I have been playing the top of the zone since third or fourth grade, so I enjoy it up there,” said Cook, a 6’5, 185-pound native of Winnetka, Ill. “It is fun when you can intimidate a team like that.”

Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson had fun watching Cook’s stellar performance at the defensive end.

“I think you saw tonight a little bit of what we have been seeing from Steve,” said Henderson.

“I said to the team I had a lot of steals here but I never had a game like that. He was just an absolute thief. It’s a terror when you have somebody at the top of that zone who intimidates and he was intimidating. I always say to the guys, you have to get steals, you have to get your hands on passes. Steve played that zone in high school so he has got a good feel for it.”

Henderson also liked Cook’s feel with the ball in his hands. “He was terrific, he was aggressive,” added Henderson. “I thought he was really very good tonight.”

In Henderson’s view, it was a really good victory for the Tigers, who were coming off a disappointing 89-85 loss at Fairleigh Dickinson on December 3.

“The more we watched Stony Brook, the more I was impressed with them,” said Henderson.

“I know that they are picked to finish highly in their conference and there are a lot of reasons for that. I think this is a really solid win. I am very happy for our guys. I think the last three games, even though we have lost one of them, there are some good signs, some good things happening and we just have to continue to believe that.”

One good sign for Princeton in the win over Stony Brook was the play of sophomore forward Pete Miller inside as he contributed 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists.

“There is room for evolvement because I think this group could get there,” said Henderson. “Finally we were able to get some scoring out of Pete in the post. I say finally because he has been capable and we have been seeing it and we were waiting for the lid to come off.”

The Tigers got some good scoring off the bench from senior guard Clay Wilson, who tallied 13 points in 23 minutes, including 3-of-5 shooting from the three-point range.

“It is huge for us to be able to bring somebody like that off the bench; we are not playing many seniors so I think that’s what Clay gives us,” added Henderson.

“I have talked to Clay about this a lot. I really feel like no shot of his shouldn’t go in because he has got such a beautiful looking shot. I just think he should make all of his shots. The net doesn’t move when he is really shooting the ball in the right places and at the right time. When he is open, he has got to shoot it. What Clay brings is some poise and I thought he was really good tonight.”

Henderson is hoping the win over Stony Brook could be a turning point for the Tigers.

“I remember two years ago when we played Drexel here and they were 1-5 and that was a good Drexel team,” said Henderson, whose team will look to keep on the winning track as it plays at St. Peter’s on December 10 and at California on December 13.

“It was a really rough loss for us, they beat us here and their coach came up to me and he was like man I really needed that. I think they went on to the NIT quarterfinals. I think I know how he feels, we really needed this one. It is a good team and we were a good team two years ago. That is a good ball club and they are going to win a lot of games. We needed a signature win to get us going.”

Cook, for his part, believes that simply going hard will make the Tigers tough to beat.

“We were aggressive as a team and sometimes that is all it takes,” said Cook. “I feel sometimes when we lay back and aren’t so aggressive, that is when the ball kind of slows down and we get stuck. Tonight, we attacked the rim and I thought we all did a great job of playing with confidence.”