Freshmen rally Princeton to win over Iona
ATLANTIC CITY >> Drew Friberg wasn’t expecting to hear his name called with Princeton down by double digits in the second half, but when he did, the freshman came off the bench like he was shot out of a cannon.
Good thing, too. Friberg, who hadn’t played more than five minutes in any of the four previous games, hit three 3-pointers to make sure coach Mitch Henderson’s gamble hit the jackpot and the Tigers rallied to beat Iona, 85-81, on Saturday afternoon in the Hall of Fame Classic at Boardwalk Hall.
“He was like a microwave,” Henderson said, “and without any preparation.”
Friberg got extended time in the first three games while senior Devin Cannady and classmate Jaelin Llewellyn were both slowed by injuries, but he struggled with his shot, including an 0-for-7 from beyond the arc against Fairleigh Dickinson.
Yet, despite what was a 4-for21 mark entering play on Saturday, Friberg came out firing and knocked down his first attempt.
“All the coaches we’re just like be ready if you go in and all my teammates were saying that, too,” Friberg said. “That’s just what you have to do. My teammates have confidence in me, so I was ready to shoot it.”
His teammates expected it. “That’s just what he does,” Llewellyn said. “He’s a shooter. He torches us in practice every single day, so I know he has that confidence.”
While Friberg was the spark for the comeback, Llewellyn was the star.
Playing in just his second game after a foot injury cost him the first seven, Llewellyn scored 22 points and dished out eight assists. This was after he debuted with 17 points at Madison Square Garden against St. John’s.
“This is what we’ve seen and knew,” Henderson said. “We missed him bad for a while. He changes our whole dynamic and changes our whole group.”
Cannady also finished with 22 points, including a 3-pointer from the corner that gave Princeton (5-4) a 78-77 lead with 1:27 remaining after it trailed by 11 at the 8:22 mark.
Following a defensive stop, the Tigers cleared out for Llewellyn, who scored on a drive to the basket and then Cannady converted a pair of threes to push the lead to 8277 with 27 seconds left.
“One of my strengths in high school was attacking the basket and looking out or finishing,” Llewellyn said. “We just wanted to utilize that.”
E.J. Crawford paced Iona (27) with 21 points, but the Gaels, who had a 15-0 second-half run to pull in front, dropped their fifth straight as the MAAC continued an underwhelming nonconference performance.
Princeton’s freshmen had a lot to do with that.
“Amazing,” Cannady said. “I’ll even throw Max (Johns) in there because when we put Max in there for defense, he’s solid. You don’t see that a lot from freshmen. Drew and Jaelin, they don’t seem like freshmen out there. They’re comfortable and they’re playing their game. I love the lift that they give us.”
Quick Start
Myles Stephens entered the game shooting a career low 40.2 percent, but he got off to a fast start by connecting on his first three shots. Princeton made its first five overall and jumped out to an 11-0 lead.
The Tigers maintained an advantage for the entirety of the first half until Iona closed on a 10-0 run and grabbed a 31-30 halftime lead on Isaiah Still’s layup with 18.1 seconds left.
Stephens finished with 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting in 23 minutes.
Up Next
Princeton plays at No. 2 Duke on Tuesday. The Blue Devils lead the all-time series, 18-1, with the Tigers’ lone win coming in 1981 at Jadwin Gym.