Xaivian Lee scores career best 30 points to lead Princeton men’s basketball to 6-0 start
PRINCETON — Xaivian Lee couldn’t wait to get back to Jadwin Gymnasium.
The sophomore guard delivered a performance befitting of a leading man with a career high 30 points and Princeton fought off Northeastern, 80-66, on Saturday afternoon in its home opener to remain undefeated following a five-game road trip to start the season.
“We had a great crowd and it’s always good to play in front of people who are rooting for you,” Lee said. “Every game so far has been on the road and it was nice to be home for sure. Coach always says cuts are a little faster and I find our shots go in a little more when we are home.”
Lee’s previous career best of 20 points — set earlier this season at Duquesne — was in jeopardy of being blown out of the water when he had 16 points at halftime. The Canadian just kept exploding downhill to the rim in the second half. He got his 27th and 28th points on a layup with 7:16 remaining, but then missed his next two shots.
As the crowd urged him on — he insisted he didn’t know how close to 30 he was — he dashed to the basket for his final two points with one minute on the clock to put the cherry on top of a hard-fought victory.
“We’re designing and thinking about what he does really well and working around it all the time,” coach Mitch Henderson said. “We want him to feel freedom. I think he plays at his best when he’s doing that.”
Lee’s 30-point performance is the first by a Princeton player since Jaelin Llewellyn scored 30 in an 85-82 loss to Cornell on March 7, 2020, which was the last game before the Covid shutdown.
Lee finished 11-of-21 from the field and made all five of his free throw attempts. He connected on a trio of 3-pointers in the first half that helped get him off to a hot start. That’s been an area of improvement after he shot 23.2% on 3s as a freshman. He’s at 44.8% (13-for-29) through six games and is showing the ability to be a three-level scorer.
“I feel like I’ve got a little stronger so I don’t get pushed off as much,” Lee said. “I can create more contact and that has helped me finish a little more. The biggest thing is buying into the system and not trying to get every bucket by myself. Today I had a lot of easy cuts and just making good reads that kind of helps me score.”
Henderson said the two of them have a better understanding than they did a year ago.
“I feel much more connected to him now,” the coach said. “He also has a spirit of improvement and he’s not there yet. That was an unbelievable performance. But don’t stop because there is so much more he can do. He’s a really tough cover, but I want him to be awesome defensively, too. I want him to impact the game on a lot of levels.”
The Tigers improved to 6-0 for the first time since the 1997-98 team started 7-0 on its way to a 27-2 season and the No. 8 ranking in the final AP poll.
Henderson was a senior on that team, but called it ancient history. He'd rather focus how this group fought off a tough challenge from Northeastern (3-4). Princeton led by five with 4:38 left before pulling away with a 13-4 run to close the game out.
The undefeated start is going to put a bigger early-season spotlight on the program than it usually gets.
"This team has done a great job of going one day at a time," said senior guard Matt Allocco, who stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points and six assists. "We show up to practice and prepare and we're focused. On gameday, we cut it loose. We hear it, it's all out there but kind of block out the noise a little bit and focus on getting better every day."
Saturday's home opener belonged to the X-Man.
"When it's time," Allocco said, "Xaivian can get a tough bucket."
