OPENING DRIVE: Princeton High boys’ basketball player -Michael Dowers drives to the hoop last Friday as PHS topped WW/P-S 57-41 in the season opener for both teams. Senior forward Dowers contributed seven points in the win. The Little Tigers play at Morristown on December 23 and at Montgomery on December 28. (Photo by John Dowers)

His nostrils were caked with blood and his upper lip was swollen but Michael Dowers was all smiles last Friday evening after he helped the Princeton High boys’ basketball team top WW/P-S in the season opener.

Making his first career start, versatile senior forward Dowers contributed seven points along with some key rebounds and assists as PHS pulled away to a 57-41 win over the Pirates.

“It was very exciting obviously, having A.J. (older brother and former PHS hoops star A.J. Dowers) there; I have always wanted to play in there,” said Dowers, reflecting on being in the starting five for the Little Tigers. “Having a packed house made it even better, I got the first three-pointer, that felt good.”

While Dowers didn’t feel so good moments later when he crashed into a WW/P-S player in the paint, getting a bloody nose and a chipped tooth in the collision, he eventually returned to the fray and was on the court as PHS produced a 24-6 third quarter to seize control of a game it was leading just 23-22 at half.

“We switched to a man press instead of a zone, they could shoot pretty well and we switched to man to adjust,” explained Dowers.

“We played well, we closed out on shooters better. We beat them 24-6 in that quarter, we made them put the ball on the floor.”

The team’s one-two punch of senior Matt Hart and junior Zahrion Blue took over the game in the third quarter as Hart scored nine points with Blue contributing 10.

“In practice it is phenomenal to see what they can do,” said Dowers. “I have been playing with Matt since the first basketball game we ever played together in rec league. He is so explosive, he always cuts hard and he finishes so high. There are not a lot of players that can guard both of them and I think it makes us a lot better.”

The versatile Dowers is willing to do whatever it takes to help PHS do better.

“Anything coach (Mark Shelley) tells me,” said the 6’1 Dowers, reflecting on his role

“Sometimes it is spread the floor for Matt or opening up the lane for Matt and Z. Other times, it is grabbing rebounds in the middle of the zone. Sometimes if a big guy is on me, I will take him outside. If a big guy goes to Z, I might take a little guy into the post. I love it because I get to play everything.”

Dowers saw the win over WW/P-S as a confidence builder for the Little Tigers.

“South is going to be one of the best shooting teams we are going to see this year so it was a good win,” added Dowers.

“We have to clean up some stuff from the first half; coach has really emphasized that we need to play like we did in the third quarter.”

With his team clinging to a one-point lead at halftime, PHS head coach Shelley had a succinct message during intermission.

“I put two words on the board, attitude and effort,” said Shelley. “Attitude meaning mentality; I thought we were positive but we were thinking we are the better team and need to play more up-tempo. There are teams where we will need to slow it down but this was not that game. We don’t need to go like this with them, walking the ball up the floor. So we really challenged them. We put a couple of our better defenders in to start the second half just to change the tone.”

PHS set the tone early in the second half, starting the third quarter with a 6-0 run and never looking back.

“The thing is we have done that, in our scrimmage with Burlington Township, it was the same thing, we had one incredible quarter,” said Shelley.

“We have just got to put multiple ones together. We were double figures every quarter tonight so I can’t complain.”

The double-barrel combo of Hart and Blue, who tallied 23 and 15 points, respectively, put the game out of reach.

“Z wasn’t quite himself, he has a little bruise on his leg so he has missed two days of practice,” said Shelley.

“He did have some nice drives. When he and Hart are both on the floor, we are so much harder to defend. Matt is so fundamental, maybe Skye [Ettin] is the last player here who was that fundamental. Matt is that fundamental; he can shoot, he can drive, he hits free throws, and he is good defensively.”

Dowers’ solid grasp of the fundamentals gave the Little Tigers a nice boost.

“Michael did play well,” said Shelley. “He gave us what we needed. We want high single figures, low double figures from him.”

The Little Tigers also played well at the defensive end. “I thought our defense was good in the half court; we went after it and then they adjusted,” said Shelley.

“They have a lot of shooters; we are going to stay zone when we drop but we are going to pressure out more and almost play the zone like an extended man. The zone looked good in the second half, we didn’t give them many good looks, especially in the third quarter. If we hadn’t fouled, we may have held them under 40 points.

Shelley credited his guard corps of Sam Serxner, Andrew Goldsmith, Cristo Silva, and Colin Taylor with triggering the defensive effort.

“I don’t think we need a ton of points from them, I like the fact that we have four of them that are interchangeable,” said Shelley.

“Cristo is a little more offensive-minded but Sam, Colin, and Andrew are more defensive-minded. We put so much pressure on the ball and they don’t get beat off the dribble real easy. Overall I was pleased.”

Coming off the bench, junior forward Justin Marciano helped PHS keep the pressure on the Pirates.

“The one kid I thought did a real good job was Justin Marciano,” said Shelley.

“He helps us inside because he lets Z and Hart not play in the post. He forced a couple of turnovers in the press. He is a good athlete, real coachable.”

In Shelley’s view, it was a good opening night all around for PHS.

“You always want to start with a win but pulling away against a team you probably feel like you are better than them one-to-five in terms of talent gives us some confidence,” said Shelley, whose team plays at Morristown on December 23 and at Montgomery on December 28.

Dowers, for his part, believes PHS will keep getting better and better. “I think we have more talent than we have had in a while,” said Dowers.

“I think we have a special bond also, every kid in the locker room gets along. We have all been playing with Clarence [White] with the rec department since we were little so the chemistry is really good.”