Caden Pierce finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds and hit the game-winning shot as Princeton defeated Rutgers, 83-82, in the seventh annual Never Forget Tribute Classic on Saturday afternoon at Prudential Center in front of 10,148 fans.
After Ace Bailey scored RU’s first basket of the afternoon, the Scarlet Knights went scoreless for almost three minutes until Jeremiah Williams snapped the cold spell. Princeton (9-4) went on a brief 6-0 run as Rutgers struggled.
The Scarlet Knights recovered, going on an 11-2 run to lead 13-8 at the first media timeout. Both teams exchanged shots up and down the court, including an electric dunk by Pierce over Rutgers’ super freshman Dylan Harper to pull the Tigers to within one point. However, once Rutgers’ bench unit entered the game, the game slowed down offensively for RU as they went on another scoreless run, and Princeton took the lead on a three-pointer from Dalen Davis.
From there, Dylan Harper took over, scoring seven points over two minutes to bring the majority pro-Rutgers crowd in Newark to life. Princeton refused to relent as Pierce and Blake Peters kept the Tigers in the game in the latter stages of the first half. After going up by three after a Joran Derkack layup, Princeton answered with an Xaivian Lee three to tie the game at 40.
At the half, Rutgers led 46-44. Harper led the way with 17 points for Rutgers (7-5). Pierce finished the half with 13 points and six rebounds for Princeton. The significant difference between the teams in the first half was rebounding. Princeton had the rebounding edge, specifically on the offensive boards. They picked up 12 offensive rebounds, resulting in 14 second-chance points.
Five quick points from Emmanuel Ogbole put Rutgers up by five to begin the second half as the Scarlet Knights looked to turn up the pressure on Princeton. When it looked like Rutgers would blow the game open, Princeton hit a basket to quiet the Scarlet Knight’s momentum repeatedly.
The Tigers went on a 7-0 run while RU missed eight straight field goal attempts, and Princeton took the lead. After a steal, Jeamichael Davis hit a three-pointer to put Rutgers up 58-56. From there, it was a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams fail and succeed at various points, and the game was tied at 62 with 10:30 left in regulation.
Harper put Rutgers up by one after a stellar crossover drive to the hoop for an easy two. Peters answered for the Tigers, but former Princeton Tiger Zach Martini answered that with a three for the Scarlet Knights. Frantic action followed as Dalen Davis hit an uncontested layup that forced Steve Pikiell to call a timeout with Rutgers down 72-69.
Out of the timeout, Rutgers again went out a scoring drought as Princeton attempted to pull away but could not. After two Martini free throws, Lee continued his point guard wizardry with two driving layups to put Princeton up 81-75 with 2:21 left in regulation.
Bailey struggled from the field throughout the game but hit a baseline jumper to pull the Scarlet Knights to within two at 81-79 with 54.2 seconds left.
After a lengthy stoppage of play to determine possession, Princeton got the ball, and Rutgers forced a turnover. Bailey hit a three to put Rutgers up by one. The Tigers then got the ball into the hands of Pierce, who hit a running hook shot to put the Tigers up with five seconds left. Harper’s last-second three was no good as Princeton picked up their second straight win over Rutgers after defeating the Scarlet Knights last season.
“A crazy end to the game,” said Lee after the game. “We turn it over and (Bailey) hit that 3 and we kind of knew that was going in when it went up. Right there we had to compose ourself and try to get a good shot. There were 12 or 13 seconds left and Cade made a play.”
Lee finished with 21 points and 11 assists for the Tigers, who outrebounded Rutgers 43-36. Nineteen rebounds were of the offensive variety, leading to 23 second-chance points.
Harper finished with 22 points but was held to just five in the second half as the Tigers made him a defensive focus. Bailey scored 15 points as he shot 6-of-16 from the field in the loss.
“Princeton is always a formidable opponent, and today proved they were just one possession better than us,” Pikiell told the media after the game. “We’re scoring enough points to win, but we need to be one possession better.”
