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Freshman Owings Picks up His Scoring Production To Help Lift Tiger Men's Hoops to Brink of Ivy Title
By Bill Alden
Coming into last weekend, Princeton freshman forward Luke Owings had only scored 13 points in his last seven games for the Tigers.
But sensing that it was his time to pick up the scoring slack, Owings scored a career-high 12 points in Princeton's 75-52 win over visiting Columbia last Friday and then chipped in 11 a night later as the Tigers topped Cornell 59-46.
The wins lifted Princeton to 17-7 overall and 10-1 in Ivy League play, leaving the Tigers tasting the title and the league¹s automatic berth in the NCAA tournament as they now hold a two-game lead in the loss column with three games left.
Owings' performance over the weekend was the latest testament to the depth that has set Princeton apart from the Ivy pack this winter.
"We needed someone to step up, if I hadn¹t stepped up someone else would have,² said the 6'6, 195-pound Owings. "We have a great deep team. Everybody has a turn and I guess this weekend it was my turn."
Owings, though, wasn't carried away by his individual numbers. "We won both games," said Owings, a native of Hyattsville, Md. who came into Saturday's game averaging 3.3 points per game. "It doesn't matter to me how much I score. As long as we win, it's a good weekend."
Princeton head coach John Thompson III isn't about to take anything for granted even if the standings point to the Tigers' imminent coronation as league champion.
"We have our last three games on the road," said Thompson, whose club has now won six in a row and will clinch the title if it wins at Harvard on March 5 and at Dartmouth on March 6.
"We play at Harvard and for the last four or five years that¹s been a tough game up there. You have a Dartmouth team the next night; it is senior night and the coach's last game. It should be a pretty emotional night. And then there's Penn, that's all that needs to be said about that."
Still, Thompson had to acknowledge that his team is looking formidable. "We had balance at both ends of the floor tonight, to tell you the truth," said Thompson, who got 12 points each from Andre Logan and Scott Greenman and 11 points apiece from Owings, Judson Wallace, and Will Venable.
"I thought Andre Logan was terrific. Looking at this (the stat sheet), it says 14 rebounds, I thought it was more. Everyone individually and collectively did a good job on defense against a team that's tough to guard."
The team had an extra bit of motivation Saturday as it wanted to get a win on its senior night in honor of its lone senior, Ed Persia, who was sidelined due to a thigh injury suffered against Brown on February 21.
"I think it was important, the guys realize that Eddie has been the backbone of this team for a while now," said Thompson, reflecting on Persia's absence.
"I feel bad for Eddie to not be able to play on his last home weekend. I think his teammates realized that and what it means to the team."
Thompson once again was happy but not surprised about the output he got from his freshmen. "Luke, Max [Schafer], Harrison [Schaen], they've played enough minutes, they've been in enough key situations that we don't think of what year they are,² maintained Thompson. "They're just out there playing. They have a comfort level about what's going on and they just make contributions."
Owings, for his part, is simply enjoying getting on the court for Princeton and doing what he can to help the team.
"I get pretty excited for any game," said Owings with his voice cracking from emotion. "We're so lucky. It's like going out and playing ball with your best friends every weekend and having people come and cheer for you."
If the Tigers keep playing like they have over the last six games, Owings and his friends will be hearing a lot of cheers this month.
