Saturday, February 24, 2001
Princeton survives Woodward rally
Vikings meet No. 1 Winton Woods next
By Carey Hoffman
Enquirer contributor
The pressure of tournament basketball brought out the best in different ways for a pair of Princeton players Friday night — Chris Brown and Jarrell Williams.
Princeton's Marc Jones struggles to keep control of the ball against pressure from Woodward's Andrew Bryant.
(Brandi Stafford photo)
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Brown was the rock under the foundation of Princeton's 72-61 first-round victory over Woodward in a first-round sectional game at Lakota West. Williams' late heroics did away with any chance that Princeton would wilt under the last-minute pressure.
“I'm happy with how we fought them off when (Woodward) came back,” said Princeton coach Paul Andrews. “Tonight taught us a little how to overcome pressure.”
Princeton, 10-11, advances to a meeting with unbeaten Enquirer Division I coaches poll champion Winton Woods on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Miami's Millett Hall.
Princeton opened an 18-3 lead in the first 6:15 of the game, then kept the lead at no less than eight points heading into the final quarter.
But Woodward cut into the lead by picking up the aggressiveness in its full-court pressure. A pair of Keoni Watson free throws after he made a steal got Woodward to within 52-47 with 5:39 left to play.
The lead was down to four 53-49 on a steal and layup by Woodward's Alex Armstrong. But after Woodward came up empty on two possessions, Princeton's Brown picked up a loose ball that leaked over to him out of a scramble in the paint and layed it in.
That put Princeton up six at 55-49 with 3:33 to play and took away Woodward's momentum.
“Three of our guys got hands on that ball,” Woodward coach Jim Leon said. “That basket hurt us.”
“The credit on the basket belongs to Derrick (Jones),” Brown said. “He hustled and went to the floor to get that ball. I just picked it up and put it in the basket.”
It was one of the few times all night that Brown wasn't the catalyst for good things happening under the basket for Princeton. The 6-foot-4 Brown battled 6-8 Woodward junior B.J. Walker all night and came away with career-highs of 18 points and 13 rebounds.
It was left to Williams, a freshman who averages about six points per game, to put Woodward away down the stretch. After Princeton beat Woodward's pressure down the floor, he hit a wide-open 3-pointer with 2:40 to play to build the lead back to nine points. Two possessions later, he did it again to make the Princeton lead 63-55 with 1:45 to play.
“I didn't want him to take those shots,” Andrews admitted, “but those are things you don't practice — they just happen.”
“I could hear Coach Andrews from the bench asking, "Why did he shoot that?'” Brown laughed.
Alex Armstrong led Woodward (9-12) with 16 points.
Princeton now takes on its neighbor, Winton Woods, who the Vikings beat in a memorable district title bat tle four years ago.
“I was worried we might look ahead and think we were playing Winton Woods instead of Woodward tonight,” Andrews said. “That's all our kids have been talking about, now they'll get a chance to see what will happen.”
WOODWARD (61) - Daniels 2 2 8, Watson 4 2 11, Armstrong 6 3 16, Walker 7 1 15, Makonnen 3 0 7, Bess 1 0 2, Edwards 1 0 2. Totals: 24 8 61.
PRINCETON (72) - M. Jones 3 5 11, Williams 4 1 12, Barnett 2 0 4, McGrath 5 2 14, Hill 1 0 2, D. Jones 4 3 11, Brown 5 8 18. Totals: 24 19 72.
Woodward ....... 5 16 13 27-61
Princeton ....... 18 13 14 27-72
3-point goals: W - Daniels 2, Watson, Armstrong, Makonnen; P - Williams 3, McGrath 2. Records: W 9-12, P 10-11.
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