PRINCETON — For the first time in the long history of the Princeton-Penn men’s basketball rivalry, the team in orange and black has the lead.
In a series that has been around since the 1902-03, the Tigers went ahead, 127-126, thanks to their 14th straight victory over the Quakers.
This one featured a scintillating second-half effort in which Princeton erased an eight-point halftime deficit in the blink of an eye after connecting on its first 16 shots and held on for a 78-76 win in the Ivy League opener on Monday night at Jadwin Gymnasium.
In total, the Tigers (5-11, 1-0) scored on 16 of their first 17 possessions, which added up to a 39-16 edge in that span and a 63-48 lead after a first-half in which they only made seven total shots.
Five different players made a field goal among the 16 that went in, with Jack Stanton pouring in 12 of his career-high 23. The returning Dalen Davis, Malik Abdullahi, CJ Happy and Landon Clarke were also on the mark.
Clark’s three-point play with 8:55 to go marked the 16th straight make. Princeton finally misfired on a 3-pointer on its next trip.
Davis finished with 19 points in his return from a nine-game absence. The junior guard came off the bench early in the first half and received a nice round of applause from the crowd. He scored his first basket since exiting a Nov. 20 win over Northeastern with a right ankle injury at the 5:40 mark.
Despite a 15-point lead following the barrage, the Tigers had to hold on as the Quakers (7-7, 0-1) cut the deficit to one twice in the final minute. After Davis split a pair of free throws with 6.2 seconds left, AJ Levine heaved up a three that slammed off the backboard and harmlessly to the hardwood.
Ethan Roberts, who also returned from injury, led five Penn players in double figures with 19 points. Layups by T.J. Power and Roberts in the final minute drew the Quakers within one possession. Davis muscled in a two in between to put the Princeton lead at three with 28.5 seconds to go.