Princeton Jumps Out Early, Never Looks Back in 70-60 Victory Over Cathedral
CINCINNATI, OH — The Princeton Vikings scored 25 points in the first quarter in Game 4 of Saturday’s Holiday Hardwood Classic action, a tone setter that helped them beat one of Indiana’s perennial contenders. In a high-stakes shootout, it was the Vikings’ first half that propelled them to victory.
The playoff atmosphere was palpable from the get-go at the Cintas Center, as both teams came out piling up the points early. After a three-pointer by Cathedral’s Julien Smith gave the Fighting Irish a four-point lead at 15-11, Princeton came roaring back, going on a 14-0 scoring run to end the first quarter. With 1:06 left in the quarter, a controversial foul call led to a heated exchange between several players on both teams that needed to be broken up by the officials. The Vikings closed the first quarter leading 25-15 thanks to the late burst. Junior Amir Gill posted 11 points in the quarter to lead Princeton in scoring.
The second quarter featured the same fast-paced, high-scoring style, but neither team could break away as the teams traded blows. With Princeton leading 36-29 with less than a minute remaining in the half, Rognny Santiago Lugo and Sebastian Jordan Ramos each added buckets for the Vikings to extend the lead to 11 at 40-29 at halftime. Cathedral’s Keaton Aldridge led the team in scoring for the first half, totaling seven points.
Princeton opened the second half by going on an 8-3 scoring run with 5:38 left to break the game open at 48-32. Tensions continued to rise as Cathedral’s Julien Smith was called for two fouls in the span of 30 seconds, leading to some protest from the Fighting Irish fans. With 2:55 to go, Aldridge received his fourth foul of the game, resulting in more words being exchanged and a bench warning against Cathedral. The teams struggled to muster points in the closing minutes of the quarter, but Princeton—led by Santiago Lugo and Amir Gill—still took a sizeable 53-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Vikings continued their dominance early in the fourth quarter, posting a 10-5 scoring run with 5:10 left in the game to bring the lead to 19 at 63-44. Smith and Braylen Pippins helped the Fighting Irish mount a comeback, pulling Cathedral within 10 at 70-60 with 12 seconds to go, but the 19-point deficit was too much to surmount and the Vikings rattled off their fifth consecutive victory and their fourth by double-digit points.
Cathedral was led in scoring by Keaton Aldridge (15 points) and Julien Smith (13 points). On the Vikings’ side, Rognny Santiago Lugo and Amir Gill combined for 46 of the team’s 70 points with 19 and 27, respectively.
Princeton was able to flip the script this year against Cathedral after sustaining a 75-50 loss at the Cintas Center in the HHC last season. The series all-time now stands knotted, with each team winning one game.
Cathedral (7-1) will now travel to Crown Point for its next game on Tuesday, December 30. Meanwhile, Princeton (6-1, 4-1 GMC) will enjoy nearly two weeks off before taking on Hamilton on the road on Friday, January 9.
