BOYS' BASKETBALL: Princeton eases past Union

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on December 7, 2016 10:01 AM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

PRINCETON -- In the fourth quarter of Tuesday night's matchup, Union began to make its final push against Princeton.

Bulldogs' head coach Jeff Davis just wanted a layup. Not a 10-footer. Not a wide-open 3-pointer -- just an easy layup.

With about two minutes left, Austin Sullivan answered the call with a floater that banked into the basket. The bucket gave the Bulldogs much-needed breathing room and helped them finish off their 54-46 win over Union.

Princeton tasted victory in its newly-minted Deacon Jones Gym for the first time after going 0-12 at home last season. The Dogs finished 1-24 overall.

This year, PHS is off to a 2-2 start thanks to two wins against Union.

"Well we let one get away (Monday) night that we felt we should've won," Davis said. "We lost to Raleigh Charter. We were up nine in the third quarter and tonight it was like déjà vu."

Until the fourth quarter, Princeton appeared to have complete control of the game. The Bulldogs ended the first quarter on a 13-3 run. They used an 11-1 run to take a 37-21 lead in the third quarter.

Midway through that third quarter, Princeton's defense began to decline, mostly due to the ball-handling of Union's Nadir Goodwin. He penetrated through the Bulldogs' box-and-one zone defense, and scored 10 points in the third quarter.

"(Union) just decided, 'We're going to put our head down, and we're going to drive through the zone,'" Davis said. "And if you don't step in front of us, we're going to keep doing it."

The Spartans cut Princeton's lead to three points in the fourth quarter, which was the exact point when Sullivan provided the crucial layup.

After the senior's basket, Union came no closer than five points.

"Well I wanted (Union) to have to go man-to-man," Davis said. "And us spread it out and shoot layups. And for some reason, we didn't seem to grasp that. I wanted a layup or don't shoot. And finally I got the group in there that did that."

Sullivan finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. Colby Sullivan tallied 19 points and eight rebounds. Earl Gibson chipped in seven points and five assists.

Davis said that most of the games Princeton plays this year will be close, so the team needs to learn how to win the tight ones. He added that youth is a significant factor on his squad, but the potential is there, as seen by the Union result.

"We're still young and getting better," Davis said. "We played in that gym all year last year and didn't win a single game. So we'll just take a 'W' right there. I'd love for it to be a pretty win, but we'll just take the win."