Monday, January 6, 2014

Sports Desk: Princeton Tigers Go to Lynchburg and Win

Earlier in the season my alma mater Radford University, a Big South school, faced the Cornell Bears, an Ivy League team, and won. But, given that Big South schools stretch from Lexington, Va. (VMI) to Charleston, SC, (Charleston Southern), and Ivy League are from the northeast, the two conferences don't play with each other that often.

But, on Saturday, the Princeton Tigers in their last game before the start of conference play, headed down to Lynchburg, Va., to face the Liberty Flames on Saturday in the first meeting in men's basketball between the two schools.

And, it was Princeton (11-2), a team which traveled from New Jersey, which prevailed with an 80-74 win that was propelled by T.J. Bray (pictured) who almost matched his career-high with 24 points and his teammate Ben Hazel who added 18 points. For Liberty, John Caleb Saunders scored 25 points.

SIDEBAR: There was a shocking upset in Winston-Salem, NC, on Sunday night, as the home court Wake Forest Demon Deacons shocked the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, ranked 19th in the country at the time, 73-67.

The win was the first for Wake Forest over UNC since 2001 in a series that the Tar Heels have dominated in more recent years. Senior Travis McKie from Richmond, Va., lead the home team in scoring with 16 points, and he shot 7 for 11 from the floor.

SIDEBAR 2: Well, when the West Virginia Mountaineers joined the BIG 12, geographic rivalries went out the window as the closest conference school to Morgantown, WVa., is (we believe) Iowa State, located in Ames, Iowa.

Tonight, WVU traveled even farther away as they headed to Lubbock, Tex., and got an 89-86 (OT) win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Juwan Staten lead WVU in scoring with 25 points, and Terry Henderson hit a crucial three-pointer with :18 left to play in regulation.

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