RESERVE STRENGTH: Princeton University men’s basketball player Ben Hazel brings the ball up the floor in recent action. Last weekend, senior guard Hazel provided Princeton with a spark off the bench, scoring 15 points in 30 minutes on Friday in a 75-72 loss to Harvard and then chipping in 14 points in a reserve role as the Tigers topped Dartmouth 64-53 on Saturday. Princeton, now 9-10 overall and 2-1 Ivy League, plays at Columbia (10-8 overall, 2-2 Ivy) on February 6 and at Cornell (10-10 overall, 2-2 Ivy) a day later. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Ben Hazel knows he can’t waste any time when he comes off the bench for the Princeton University men’s basketball team.

“Coach (Mitch Henderson) just preaches being aggressive from the jump, right when you come on the court,” said the senior guard, a 6’5, 191-pound native of Bowie, Md.

Last Saturday against visiting Harvard, Hazel followed Henderson’s instructions, scoring 15 points in 30 minutes of action.

“I was just kind of getting into the flow and trying to take advantage of what the defense was giving us,” said Hazel, reflecting on his performance.

“Coming off the bench you are able to see what is open and what we need to do and pick up when you come into the game. It is just trying to execute within our offense and taking what the defense gives you.”

Hazel’s spark off the bench helped keep the Tigers in the game with Harvard but it wasn’t enough as a late Princeton rally fell short and the Crimson prevailed 75-72.

“One thing I will say about the guys in that locker room is that there is no quit in that team,” said Hazel.

“We just weren’t able to string enough plays together. You have got to string a few positive plays together to get you back and get the ball rolling towards your side. We weren’t able to put it all together for a long enough period of time to get over that hump.”

While Princeton head coach Henderson credited Harvard for the win, he lamented his team’s failure to come up with some big plays down the stretch.

“First off, hats off to Harvard, they were the better team tonight,” said Henderson.

“Sometimes shots don’t fall and that has been a big thing for us. I thought the turnovers hurt us and (Corbin) Miller really hurt us. It was a big focus of ours throughout the week; it is a little disappointing for our group because we put a lot of time into that.”

The Princeton group strengthened by the return of sophomore Steven Cook, who had been sidelined due to illness.

“I thought Steve was not afraid, he played very aggressively and made some huge plays,” said Henderson of Cook, who scored a game-high 21 points and had four assists and three steals against Harvard. “We have missed him, just not having him around in practice even. He is capable of doing so many things for us.”

In Henderson’s view, his team is capable of doing some good things this winter.

“I like the group a lot; I feel like we can win games,” said Henderson. “We have yet to play a game this season where all of the pieces look good, we just haven’t. These guys have to keep figuring out a way.”

In the wake of the loss to the Crimson, Henderson was happy to have a game the next day against Dartmouth.

“I just told the guys it is over, we got one more, a real big one tomorrow,” said Henderson.

“You take them one at a time. I do think it is a really strong league, all of them are good. There is not an easy game on the schedule and I think Harvard with their loss to Dartmouth had an edge. We need to have an edge.”

A night later, Princeton played with an edge, topping Dartmouth 64-53 as Spencer Weisz led the way with 16 points and Hazel had another strong game off the bench, tallying 14 points in 30 minutes.

For Hazel, the game against Dartmouth was a chance for Princeton to display some intensity and urgency.

“That is the beauty of the league, you can’t really worry abut these things,” said Hazel, who hit 4-of-8 three-pointers in the victory over the Big Green and will look to help Princeton put together some more wins as it plays at Columbia (10-8 overall, 2-2 Ivy) on February 6 and at Cornell (10-10 overall, 2-2 Ivy) a day later.

“You worry about the small things that can help big things positioning-wise. For the most part the scouting report will be a little different but the motto is the same — be aggressive from the jump. Now with the loss on our record, these games become that much more important.”