TRENTON, N.J. — Matt Allocco scored 21 points, Xaivian Lee added 18 and together scored the final 15 points of the game to secure Princeton’s 68-61 win over Rutgers in a season-opener Monday night.
The game was the 121st renewal of the long-running series, but the first meeting since the 2013-14 season.
The Tigers lead the series 76-45.
The Tigers turned away every Rutgers attempt to rally.
The Scarlett Knights managed to tie the game at 45-45 in the second half, but Princeton responded with a quick 8-0 run fueled by a pair of Zach Martini 3-pointers.
“We need to have our guys more ready out the gate,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said postgame. “It was 12-to-4 to start the game. We can’t start off a game like that. I felt like our team was fighting though. We fought back. We were a couple of possessions short. We had to finish close to the basket. I think we missed 17 layups, and that’s not a recipe to win a game. Princeton did a great job.”
The Tigers pushed its lead to 10 points, capped by a Lee jumper with 7:18 left to play, but Rutgers rallied to get within two before Lee answered with back-to-back layups.
Princeton double-teamed All-Big Ten center Cliff Omoruyi and held him to just 12 points, a team high.
“I think that Cliff got some really good looks, but they came with double teams, and that’s what they showed on tape,” Pikiell said. “Cliff will have to get used to different styles from different defenders, but he still had his opportunities. It’s on me to make sure he’s finishing and taking care of business because he’s so talented.”
Princeton hit 26 of 60 (43.3%) from the field, including 9 of 20 (45%) from distance while holding the Scarlet Knights to 25 of 62 (40.3%) and just 4 of 14 (28.6%) from behind the arc.