Princeton drops heartbreaker to Yale in Ivy League semifinals
NEW HAVEN, CONN. >> All Myles Stephens could do was watch from the bench and root for one more game.
Forty more minutes to his senior season.
Oh, how close a shorthanded Princeton was to giving its star another chance at an Ivy League Tournament title.
But as soon as Stephens fouled out with 3:10 remaining, Ivy Player of the Year Miye Oni rallied secondseeded Yale to an 83-77 victory over the third-seeded Tigers in a semifinal game on Saturday afternoon at the John J. Lee Amphitheater.
“You would think it would feel helpless, but watching the young guys go out there and compete, I was actually really confident,” Stephens said. “They were holding their own, defending, making shots, making plays. I was really confident in them. Of course, I wish I was out there, but I was really proud of how they played out there.”
Stephens picked up his fifth personal — the third questionable touch foul called against him — with 3:10 remaining and Princeton holding a 71-66 lead.
A 6-7 junior drawing the eyes of NBA scouts, Oni (23 points) immediately attacked the youthful Tigers lineup with its senior standout out of the game. He scored the Bulldogs’ next six points and then set up Trey Phills for a layup that gave Yale a 74-72 edge with 1:12 remaining.
“If I’m in the Princeton locker room, I’m sure they’re saying if we had Myles he would have done a better job guarding Miye,” Yale coach James Jones said. “Miye saw red and he was going to the rim, and I don’t know many guys who can stop him when he gets in that mode with the space he had.”
Princeton went inside to Richmond Aririguzoh, and he drew a foul and made both free throws to tie the score at 74.
Blake Reynolds (16 points) answered by hitting the biggest shot of his career, swishing a straightaway 3-pointer with 37 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs cemented their place in Sunday’s noon final against top-seeded Harvard by making their final six free throws to finish 16-for-16 in the game.
“We gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game,” Tigers coach Mitch Henderson said. “I like the team that was out there. What an incredible opportunity those guys put us in. … They had to make all of those free throws to win the game, and they did.”
Princeton (16-12) looked dead in the water at halftime. Yale (21-7) had just shot 60.1 percent in the first half and led by 12 at intermission. Throw in the fact that the Tigers lost by 22 to the Bulldogs last Saturday, and it felt more likely the game would get away than end up a nail-biting finish.
Despite the foul trouble, Stephens (13 points) wasn’t ready for his senior campaign to end. He led a spirited charge out of the locker room and a 17-2 push put the Tigers in front by three. They led by as many as seven with 5:32 left after the outstanding Aririguzoh (career-high 24 points, eight rebounds) scored inside.
“We have guys that go out and fight and we decide to fight,” Aririguzoh said. “It was going our way and then it wasn’t.”
Princeton ended up with three freshmen, a sophomore and Aririguzoh on the floor trying to close out the game.
“I think it’s an example to show you how hard winning is,” Aririguzoh said. “And how you have to be dedicated to the details, so when you come to these situations and Myles (fouls out), other guys have to step up and get the job done. It goes to show you how hard winning is and makes you want to go back into the gym and pay attention to all those little details. It makes you wish that you had, so going forward, you don’t have those regrets.”
Jaelin Llewellyn had 13 of his 17 points in the second half, including some big buckets to keep Princeton in front.
There just wasn’t enough left in the tank to bring it home.
“That’s a good team,” Henderson said, “and we had them.”
NOTES >> Top-seeded Harvard advance to Sunday’s championship game with a 66-58 victory over fourthseeded Penn. Bryce Aiken scored 10 of his 19 points in the final eight minutes to lift the Crimson (18-10). AJ Brodeur scored 25 points for the Quakers (19-12) . ... Henderson said Princeton’s season is finished and it won’t participate in an alternate postseason tournament. The Tigers are not in contention for an NIT berth . ... Sophomore forward Ryan Schwieger missed the season’s final three games due to a concussion . ... Freshman Ethan Wright gave Princeton seven points and eight rebounds in 35 minutes . ... Henderson started Llewellyn, Wright, Stephens, Aririguzoh and Jerome Desrosiers — the 15th different starting combination this season and a group that started together just once all season in the Division III game vs. Wesley.