(Photo by David Goldsmith) WELL DONE: Princeton High boys’ basketball senior guard Brian Dunlap brings the ball up the court in recent action. Last Monday, tri-captain Dunlap poured in 25 points to help PHS rout Princeton Day School 83-47 and improve to 9-3 on the season. The Little Tigers, who clinched a berth in the state tournament with the win, plays at Robbinsville on January 30, at Hillsborough on January 31, and at Hamilton on February 2.

Sparked by Dunlap’s Leadership, Heady Play, PHS Boys’ Hoops Getting in a Good Groove

Bill Alden

Brian Dunlap scored just one bucket as the Princeton High boys’ basketball team pounded Allentown with a 29-2 deluge in the third quarter of their clash last week.

For senior co-captain Dunlap, seeing the Little Tigers click on all cylinders was far more important than any individual glory.

“That’s what we need to bring every quarter,” said Dunlap as he reflected on the quarter that broke things open in PHS’s 67-35 win.

“We know we have some talent and the ability to dominate like that. Sometimes our intensity level goes up and down. Coach [Jason Carter] is stressing that we need to bring the same focus and mentality to every quarter.”

While point guard Dunlap only contributed two points, he helped trigger the onslaught with several steals and some nice assists.

“I think that’s my primary job on this team to facilitate and to get everybody involved,” said Dunlap.

“DeQuan [Holman] and Skye [Ettin] are our primary scorers. I can pick and choose my spots. I think the team allows me to hit open 3s; that’s what I concentrate on doing but first and foremost I think I need to get everybody else going.”

Dunlap’s long distance bombing did help to get PHS going as he hit four 3-pointers in the second quarter as the Little Tigers built a 30-18 halftime lead.

“Every once in a while you get in a zone,” said a grinning Dunlap, who ended up with 14 points on the evening.

“You hit one or two and then you hit three or four. I guess I had it a little bit in the second quarter there.”

PHS hit the floor looking to get in the zone as they continued to rebound from a rough patch that saw the Little Tigers lose to Notre Dame and Trenton High in consecutive games after a 4-1 start.

“I think it was a good wake-up call for us; we were in position to win both games but we weren’t able to do that for whatever reason” said Dunlap referring to the defeats to Notre Dame and Trenton.

“I think it might have been one of the best things that could’ve happened to us because now we realize that we have to compete at an extremely high level every single night. We would like to have those games back but we kind of got back into it at practice. We know it is not going to be as easy as we might’ve thought and it is going to take a lot of hard work to go where we want to go.”

As a team captain along with Holman and A.J. Dowers, Dunlap feels a responsibility to get his teammates working hard.

“The intensity can’t always come from the coach, it has to come from some of the leaders on the team,” asserted Dunlap, who showed some intensity last Monday, scoring 25 points as PHS routed Princeton Day School 83-47 to improve to 9-3 on the season.

“Myself, Quan, and A.J. are senior captains and we need to make sure that everybody is ready to go from the opening tip. We are working on that; we are trying to be leaders on and off the court.”

PHS head coach Carter likes the leadership he is getting from Dunlap and his classmates. DeQuan and Brian are leading us,” said Carter after the Allentown win.

“Brian got hot; he has been working on his shot. DeQuan has been doing a better job of penetrating and try to find him. We use the combination where we get penetration and the outside threat.”

PHS has another big threat in Ettin, who poured in 26 points in the win over Allentown.

“Like Brian and DeQuan, Skye is really working hard everyday,” said Carter, whose team clinched a spot in the NJSIAA state tournament for the second straight year with the win over PDS. “He is competing hard and that hard work is starting to pay off.”

Carter was looking for his team to compete hard as it gets back on the winning track after the setbacks to Notre Dame and Trenton.

“I think we are a growing program and we need to learn how to hold on to leads,” said Carter, whose team plays at Robbinsville on January 30, at Hillsborough on January 31, and at Hamilton on February 2.

“We need to learn how to play when other teams raise their tempo and are really pressuring the ball. We got tested and had some adversity. Tonight was a test of their character and they responded.”

Dunlap, for his part, thinks PHS is ready for the tests ahead. “We have definitely improved from last year,” said Dunlap, noting that PHS got off to a 3-6 start last winter.

“I think we all feel that if we execute properly and bring the intensity that we know we can, we can compete with any team we play. That’s the confidence we need to have; we need to get a little swagger.”

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