By TOM BONE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON — Playing without their star senior, the Princeton Tigers looked to each other and found ways to slash past the Red Dragons of St. Albans, taking a 66-45 victory Tuesday night on the Ralph Ball Court.
For the first time this season, Princeton (4-6, 3-5 Mountain State Athletic Conference) picked up consecutive wins.
The Tigers’ 6-foot-8 linchpin, Aaron Ferguson, was out of the lineup after being ejected from Monday’s win at Cabell Midland. A collective effort took his place.
Princeton head coach Ernie Gilliard said, “We’ve got a lot of kids that we’ve got confidence in, and what we’ve been trying to get them to do is to buy into their role.
“A game like tonight, where we had to make a lineup adjustment, provided an opportunity for those guys to see how important their role is with this team, and how good a team we can be, when they play their roles.”
Senior Logan McKinney was all over the floor, finishing with 20 points and seven rebounds for Princeton. Fellow senior Ashton O’Dell and junior Jacob Whittington each added 11 points. Whittington grabbed five steals.
Colton Fix snagged six rebounds and dealt five assists.
Ten of the Tigers’ 11 players scored. The other, Aaron McCabe, did the out-of-the-spotlight work necessary for others to prosper, taking a charge and whipping passes around the perimeter.
McKinney said, “We knew it was going to be hard, because we’re missing the heart of our team — Aaron. We just came out here, and we knew we had to play together, and we knew what we needed to do.”
Princeton never trailed but the score was tied twice in the first half.
McKinney said, “I think without Aaron tonight, we were a little jittery about what to do on the offensive side. As the game went on, we figured out what was working, and we just started to do that more, and execute it well.”
A layup by the Dragons’ Phillip Hall produced a 17-17 tie to start the second quarter, but Princeton switched to a zone defense and St. Albans (0-9) missed its next eight shots.
Princeton scored on five straight possessions, including back-to-back buckets by Whittington, to build a 32-19 advantage.
Gilliard said, “The biggest thing was the energy level that those kids were playing at that time, and the fact that they played as a collective unit.
“They shared the ball well, they looked for each other, and we got out and got some transition baskets.”
Garrison Hartwell scored the Tigers’ last three points of the half for a 35-23 lead.
The play got rather ugly in the second half. The two teams missed all eight of their field-goal tries in the first two minutes after intermission, and Princeton turned the ball over three times.
St. Albans made just two shots from the floor in the third quarter and Princeton wound up 5-for-10 from the field in that span to start pulling away.
O’Dell stole the ball and converted it into a layup for a 60-35 margin with 4:42 left. Reserves played most of the rest of the way for both teams.
McKinney said, “I think that’s real good, because in our conference, we don’t get to ... get the younger guys in the game as much.
“Tonight, it was a good experience for them. They’re going to be the future, you know, so I’m glad they got to get in. We were all smiling when they got in.”
Hall had 19 points and eight rebounds for St. Albans, which shot 34 percent from the field (18 of 53). Princeton shot 62 percent (29 for 47).
Princeton won the rebounding statistic, 27 to 25, and had slightly fewer turnovers when the last of the starters left the floor.
McKinney said, “I told the team before the game, we’re going to have to win the turnover battle and the rebound battle. I think we did a good job of that.”
Gilliard said about the play of his usual non-starters, “I think to perform like this is a big plus for their confidence level.”
McKinney said the Gilliard “does a real good job, coaching. He gave us a good speech, and told us what we needed to do.”
The Tigers remain at home for their next game, Thursday against George Washington (7-3, 4-2).
Gilliard said, “We’re facing a monumental task, but I think the results tonight and Monday night (have) to be a confidence booster for these guys, who have to battle against a very well-coached team, and a very talented team.”
Princeton’s home game with Riverside has been moved from Monday to Feb. 11, he said.
— Contact Tom Bone at
tbone@bdtonline.com;
Twitter @BDTBone

At The Ralph Ball Court
ST. ALBANS (0-9, 0-7 MSAC)
Jayson Barrett 1 2-2 4, Ryan Broderick 1 0-0 3, John Klassem 1 2-2 4, Jeffrey Seams 3 2-4 8, Phillip Hall 9 1-5 19, Matthew Stricklen 2 1-2 5, Hamilton Fletcher 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 8-15 45.
PRNCETON (4-6, 3-5)
Colton Fix 2 0-0 4, Jacob Whittington 4 1-4 11, Tyler Boyd 1 0-0 2, Daquan Peavy 1 0-0 3, Cole Cochran 4 0-0 8, Lester Sturdivant 1 0-0 2, L.J. Reed 1 0-0 2, Ashton O’Dell 5 1-2 11, Logan McKinney 9 2-5 20, Garrison Hartwell 1 1-2 3. Totals 29 5-13 66.
St. Albans..................15 8 7 15 — 45
Princeton...................17 18 11 20 — 66
3-point goals — SA 1 (Broderick); PSHS 3 (Whittington 2, Peavy 1). Total fouls — SA 10, PSHS 14. Fouled out — none.