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December 22, 2011

Tigers fall to Patriots

By CHRIS SLATER for the Princeton Times

PRINCETON — Costly turnovers kept the Princeton Tigers boys’ varsity basketball team from gaining momentum, as they fell to the George Washington Patriots Wednesday night, 64-41.

The Tigers’ record fell to 1-2, and GW remained undefeated with three victories.

Rick Greene, head coach of the George Washington Patriots, was complimentary of the Tigers’ game, and noted the difficulty they faced after losing point guard Ryan Meadows to injury.

“You know, Meadows, he’s one of the best guards in the state,” Greene said. “Everybody I’ve seen, ourselves included, you can’t lose one of your top guards off your team and still be functioning well. Things swayed to our advantage, with him not being able to play.”

Greene said that he believes the Tigers will improve as the season progresses.

“They played well,” Greene said. “It’s just so difficult to lose the head. You know, the old thing is ‘Cut off the head, and the body dies.’ So, that’s really difficult for a basketball team to do the things you have been doing when your best player isn’t there and you really haven’t had enough practices to make a difference.”

Greene also praised Tigers head coach Ernie Gilliard’s approach to the team.

“Ernie does a great job with them; they’re always well-coached,” Greene said. “I think it was just a situation for them where it was really tough for them to overcome.”

Princeton kept the game competitive early on, only down by three points at the end of the first quarter. The Patriots pulled away in the second, led by GW player Darian William’s multiple shots from behind the three-point line. At the half, Princeton was down 19-33.

As the second half progressed, Princeton’s shots stopped sinking, and George Washington capitalized on the Tigers’ mistakes. George Washington led by nearly 30 points in the fourth quarter.

“I think we were just so balanced,” Greene said. “From our standpoint, we played very solid on both ends of the floor; very consistent. I was really pleased with tonight.”

Princeton outscored George Washington in the final few minutes, going on a 10-4 run. But, it was not enough to overcome the Patriots, as they defeated the Tigers by a 23-point margin.

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