WILLING TO HELP: Princeton High boys’ basketball player Will Doran goes in for a layup in recent action. Last week, senior Doran, who also stars for the PHS boys’ lacrosse team, tallied nine points to help the Tigers defeat WW/P-South 52-36. PHS, which lost 68-46 to Ridge last Monday to move to 4-8, plays at Ewing on February 4 and at Hightstown on February 5 before hosting Notre Dame on February 8. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Over the last two years, Will Doran emerged as the go-to scorer for the Princeton High boys’ lacrosse team.

This past spring, Doran enjoyed a huge junior lax campaign, leading PHS in points (91), goals (51), and assists (40).

But coming into his senior year, Doran felt an athletic void. After having played JV basketball as a freshman and then taking two years away from hoops to focus on lacrosse, Doran was itching to get back on the hardwood one more season.

“I just really didn’t want to have any regrets; my brother Tommy played on the team, he graduated in 2018,” said Doran.

“He loved playing for coach [Pat] Noone and coach [Rob] McMahon. That wasn’t something I wanted to miss out being a part of.”

Doran decided to join the squad this winter and has enjoyed the challenges of playing at the varsity level and teaming up with some of his buddies.

“I would say the speed of the game, I haven’t played high intensity basketball like this,” said Doran in reflecting on his return to the court.

“Jaxon [Petrone] is one of my best friends, Troy [Curren] is one of my best friends; through the years, playing one-on-one with them has kept me into it. I am catching up with that speed of the game and that intensity of defense that we like to play. We run for 32 minutes.”

Last week, Doran showed that he is catching on quickly, scoring nine points and making some nice assists as PHS defeated WW/P-South 52-36.

Doran’s lacrosse background has served him well this winter.

“It translates really, really well, there are a lot of the same things,” said Doran who has committed to attend Williams College and play for its men’s lacrosse team.

There are things like skip passes, the defensive concepts help, the footwork translates really well, agility, stuff like that. That is a benefit to me, the overall athletic IQ.”

In the win over WW/P-S on January 25, PHS featured a stifling defense, jumping out to an 11-2 lead after the first quarter.

“What we have been trying to do all season is play hard, no matter what,” said Doran

“Giving up two points there in the first quarter, we really pride ourselves on our defense. It is not letting the ball go in the basket and really hustling all over the place.”

Doran hustled to get his points against the Pirates. “This is my first game back from a little heel injury,” said Doran.

“I am trying to get my elevation back on the jump shot. I am slowly getting back. There were definitely a few misses in there, it was nice to hit one or two.”

The Tigers showed some nice poise down the stretch, holding off a WW/P-South rally.

“That is something we have struggled with all season,” said Doran.

“Keeping that intensity and not quitting on plays is something that we have really been working on in practice. That is something you can control, it is an effort thing. I think something similar against North Brunswick (a 61-60 loss on January 15) a few weeks ago. It has been a theme of the season so we wanted to nip that in the bud.”

Having lost five straight games coming into the contest with the Pirates, Doran and his teammates were hungry to get back on the winning track.

“We have been in a really tough stretch, playing some tough teams, we had Robbinsville and then Phillipsburg this weekend,” said Doran. “After we dropped a few in a row, we feel like there is not a better time to start a streak than right now. It is great to start early in the week.”

PHS head coach Pat Noone wasn’t overly concerned by the skid, due to the effort he was getting from his players.

“It is a losing streak but we lost by one, by four,” said Noone. “It was just a couple of bad bounces. The good thing is that they play so hard, every coach in the CVC tells us after the game that we play hard. You like to see it finally pay off, like tonight.”

Playing hard on defense was a key for PHS against WW/P-S.

“We did a really good job on our rotations and closing them out and running them off the line,” said Noone. “We stopped their rotations, which was huge.”

In the second quarter, the Tigers got clicking on offense, scoring 19 points as they built a 30-18 halftime lead.

“With about three minutes left in the first quarter, we started hitting more shots,” said Noone.

“We are very streaky. Once it gets going, it goes in buckets and once it gets cold, it gets cold.”

PHS kept things going to the end as it closed the deal. “That was huge, I think three, four years ago, we had the same type of game here and they came back and ended up winning,” said Noone.

“I kept saying oh man, we have got to really hold on. We did a good job of not turning it over at the end and pulling it out running our stuff.”

Senior star Petrone had a huge game, tallying a career-high 24 points in the win.

“He got a new haircut and a new head band, so I think that had a lot to do with,” said Noone with a laugh, referring to Petrone’s crew cut.

“He was awesome. He is such a good kid and such a good athlete. He gives you so much.”

Despite having not played in two years, Doran is giving a lot to the Tigers.

“The first day that Will was out from practice, it was our worst practice,” said Noone. “I think that is because of the energy and the team aspect he brings. He is such a leader without even knowing it. He just brings such a positive attitude, he is very talented.”

With PHS playing at Ewing on February 4 and at Hightstown on February 5 before hosting Notre Dame on February 8, Noone is hoping the squad can build on its performance against WW/P-S.

“Being in those close games where you don’t reap the benefit despite how hard you are playing, that could really bury some guys,” said Noone, whose team lost 68-46 to Ridge last Monday to move to 4-8.

“But they came out and they are practicing hard. They played really well tonight and executed. Execution was a big thing tonight down the stretch.”

In Doran’s view, the Tigers will keep going hard. “We really want to just get back in our groove, practice really hard and then just compete, that is all you can really control,” said Doran. “We want to be competitive in these games, which we have done.”