Bizarre & Myths ·
Princeton’s Way Back From 40–13
At the Palestra in February 1999, the Tigers erased a 27-point deficit to beat Penn by one. Chris Young’s hook shot was the game’s last basket.
With 15:11 remaining at the Palestra on Feb. 9, 1999, Princeton trailed Penn 40–13. The Tigers had scored fewer points in nearly 25 minutes than they would need just to erase the deficit. They went on to win 50–49, allowing Penn only nine more points.
This was the season’s first meeting between the teams, and Princeton arrived with a 6–0 Ivy League record and a 10-game winning streak. In December, the Tigers had beaten Florida State, Texas and Charlotte on consecutive nights to win the Rainbow Classic. Brian Earl, then in his final season, had been part of three Ivy championship teams. There was reason to expect Princeton to compete; little in the opening half suggested it would.
Earl made a three-pointer to open the scoring. Penn answered with 29 consecutive points. A 2015 Ivy Hoops Online retrospective described a packed arena stirred into a frenzy by the run. At halftime, Penn led 33–9. Princeton’s entire first half had produced just six points after Earl’s opening shot.
The deficit grew to 27 in the second half. According to the retrospective, Princeton coach Bill Carmody called a timeout. Whatever was said, the task remained substantial: Princeton had to find enough scoring to get back into the game while stopping a team that had already built a commanding lead.
The Tigers did both. Earl and freshman center Chris Young helped lead a 37–9 run over the rest of the game. The turnaround took Princeton from 40–13 down to a one-point victory and moved the Tigers into first place in the Ivy League. Penn’s advantage, built through that long unanswered stretch in the first half, was gone.
The win did not settle the championship. Penn won its last seven games, including the return meeting at Princeton on March 2, when the Quakers beat the Tigers 73–48 and claimed the Ivy title. The February loss was Penn’s only conference defeat that season. The comeback and the championship belonged to different teams.
At the Palestra, though, Princeton had needed only 50 points. Young supplied the last two with a sweeping hook shot that put the Tigers ahead 50–49 with 2:14 left, according to the Ivy Hoops Online account. Neither team scored again.