WASHINGTON — It has taken Patrick Saunders just three games to get into the flow.
The Gilford native, who did not play in the season opener for Princeton, tossed in a team-high 12 points in the Tigers' 65-50 setback to George Washington Tuesday evening. Princeton is now 2-2 on the season, while GW moves to 4-0. Saunders took the court against Manhattan and scored 2 points in 13 minutes and did not score in six minutes of a 56-52 loss to Army.
GW freshman Bryan Bynes led the team with 13 points while hitting 4 of 5 from three-point range, a weapon the Colonials used less often and with more accuracy than the Tigers.
Princeton fell behind by as much as 10 in the first half, going 3 for 14 from three-point range against a GW team that allowed opponents just 28.8 percent success from beyond the arc through its first three contests. The Colonials went 9 for 16 (.563) from three-point range.
The second half produced much of the same for Princeton, which made just 19.2 percent (5 for 26) of its threes on the night. The preference for dialing from distance came one game after the Tigers took 31 such shots against Army. Last season, Princeton took more than 50 three-pointers in back-to-back games only once, at Central Connecticut and Lafayette (52). Princeton was similarly cold in both instances, making 14 of 52 (.269) in the two-game stretch last season and 13 of 57 (.228) against GW and Army.
Those missed three-pointers didn't lead to many second-chance rebounds for Princeton, which GW handled on the glass 39-22 and limited to only five offensive boards.
Princeton couldn't quite string together a run like it did when rallying against Manhattan and coming close to erasing a 20-point deficit against Army. The closest Princeton got after the break was five on a bucket by Saunders with less than eight minutes left. By the 4:14 mark, a three-pointer by GW's Damian Hollis put the lead back at 10.
Saunders hit 5 of 7 field goals on the night to lead Princeton.
The Colonials rolled up the lead late, scoring 18 of the last 26 points after Princeton pulled to within 47-42. The gap was at its largest after Bynes hit one of two free throws to put the Colonials up by 19 with 1:32 to play. The Bynum miss was GW's only free throw of 17 that didn't fall.
Panther wrestlers earn NE rankings
PLYMOUTH — Five members of the Plymouth State University wrestling team are currently ranked among the top wrestlers in New England, according to the latest New England Wrestling Association's individual rankings.
The top-ranked Panther is sophomore Jake Gagnon (Manchester), who is ranked fourth in the 285-pound weight class. Three PSU wrestlers are fifth in their weight class — sophomore Josh Huber (Hampton) at 125 pounds, sophomore Mike Willey at 157, and freshman Seth Carter (Hudson) at 165; and freshman Femi Wheeler is ranked sixth at 149 pounds.
Huber has posted the top individual record for the Panthers, registering an 8-2 mark. Willey and Gagnon are tied for second on the team with 6-2 records. Carter, Wheeler and fellow freshman Jesse Bilodeau have gotten their careers off to a solid start with 5-3 individual records.
The Panthers, 1-2 in dual meets and ranked eighth in New England, conclude the semester's action with a pair or road encounters — Wednesday, Dec. 2, a dual meet at Rhode Island College, and Saturday, Dec. 5, the Ted Reese Invitational at the University of Southern Maine.
UNH leads AE Commissioner's Cup standings
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The University of New Hampshire is currently leading the America East 2009-10 Commissioner's Cup standings by three points after completion of the fall athletic season. The Commissioner's Cup annually recognizes the strongest athletic program in America East as determined by a scoring system that rewards a school for success both during the regular season and at championship competition in the conference's 20 sports.
Following the six fall championships, New Hampshire has 120 points and holds a slight edge over Stony Brook (N.Y.), which has 117 points. Boston University is third with 112 points followed by Binghamton (N.Y.) (111), Albany (N.Y.) (106), Maine (72), Hartford (Conn.) (53), Maryland-Baltimore County (53) and Vermont (44).
New Hampshire fared well in every America East sport it sponsors this fall. The Wildcats earned the men's soccer regular-season crown and qualified for the postseason in field hockey, men's soccer, women's soccer and volleyball. Additionally, the women's cross country squad placed fourth at its championship meet while the men's cross country team placed second.
Stony Brook took its third straight cross country title on the women's side, while the men placed third. The men's soccer squad earned nearly one-third of the Seawolves' points by following a second-place finish in the regular season with its first tournament title since 2005. SB also reached the semifinals of the women's soccer championship for the second straight year.
BU swept the women's soccer regular-season and championship crowns for the second straight year. The Terriers' field hockey team captured their fourth conference title in five years and also earned a share of the regular-season crown.
Binghamton won its first-ever men's cross country title and also knocked off three-time defending champion Albany in the volleyball championship match for its first title since 2005.
Maine earned the second-most points in women's cross country, it's best showing since finishing second in 1989. The Black Bears earned the No. 3 seed for the women's soccer tournament and reached the semifinals for the second straight year and also qualified for the postseason in field hockey.
Hartford earned 33 of its 53 points in men's soccer. The Hawks finished tied for second in the regular season and reached the semifinals of the tournament, where they fell in penalty kicks to the eventual champion, Stony Brook.
UMBC picked up over half its points in men's soccer by reaching the championship game for the first time in program history. The Retrievers also competed in the volleyball championship as the No. 4 seed.
Vermont accumulated the majority of its points in cross country. The Catamount women and men placed third and fifth, respectively, at the America East Championship, which was hosted by UVM.
UNH ranked high in graduation success rate
DURHAM — The University of New Hampshire ranks highest in the America East Conference, the Colonial Athletic Conference and second nationally among all public institutions, trailing only the U.S. Naval Academy, for the graduation success rate (GSR) of its student athletes, according to numbers recently released by the NCAA.
"Our number one priority is to recruit, retain and graduate high caliber student athletes," said President Mark W. Huddleston. "Success in the classroom is as vital as success on the playing fields, courts and rinks at UNH. Achieving the highest Graduation Success Rate among all of the land-grant institutions in the nation is a wonderful achievement, and a tribute to all who work with our student athletes, as well as to the student athletes themselves."
Posting 100 percent GSRs for New Hampshire were men's basketball, men's ice hockey, men's skiing, men's soccer, men's tennis, women's cross country and track, women's crew, field hockey, women's gymnastics, women's lacrosse, women's skiing, women's soccer, women's swimming, women's tennis and women's volleyball. Also performing well among its peers was football with a 95 percent mark.
"Of all of our accomplishments athletically, this may be the most significant," said Athletic Director Marty Scarano. "For a land-grant institution to achieve this distinction there has to be a deep commitment to do all of the right things. It reflects well on the entire university and its dedication to student welfare, the hard work of our student athletes, coaches, and staff, and their daily approach to their endeavors."
UNH was fourth overall in The Chronicle of Higher Education's rankings. Notre Dame and Colgate (N.Y.) were first with 99 percent, the U.S. Naval Academy was third with 98 percent and UNH was fourth at 97 percent.
The NCAA reported that 79 percent of Division I freshman student athletes who entered college in 2002 earned their degrees, matching last year's rate, and that the average GSR for the last four graduating classes is 79 percent, one percentage point higher than last year.
The NCAA developed the GSR as part of its academic reform initiative to more accurately assess the academic success of student athletes. The rate holds institutions accountable for transfer students, unlike the federal graduation rate.
