In a matchup of undefeated teams, Princeton answered the challenge against Rosewood on Tuesday evening.
Jahiem Taylor collected a game-high 32 points for the Bulldogs, who thwarted a couple of rallies and dealt the Eagles a 73-55 defeat.
Zion McPhatter contributed 11 points, and Ethan Potts added 10 points.
Princeton is now on a six-game winning streak, while Rosewood was dealt its first loss of the season.
“As far as a team, this is the closest unit that I’ve ever had,” Princeton head coach David Cobb said. “They work extremely hard, and they work very well together.
“They kind of play with a chip on their shoulders, which I’m proud of. They’re just a very good team, and that will benefit us down the road.”
Princeton had a 17-10 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Eagles climbed to within 22-17 on Gabe Veron’s three-point play.
However, Princeton used a 14-6 run to take a 36-23 lead at halftime.
“We got going there in the second quarter, and we pulled away a little bit,” Cobb said.
Midway through the third quarter, Roderick Benjamin drained a three-pointer to Princeton’s lead down 43-38, but coming off the bench, Princeton’s Hunter Bailey provided an offensive spark for the Bulldogs in the third quarter.
Bailey scored six of his eight points in the third quarter, and he helped the Bulldogs build up a 49-39 lead.
“We call Hunter Bailey, and Ethan Pott ‘rabbitts’ because their job as soon as we got possession is to run the floor, and not many big men will run with them,” Cobb said.
Julian Lucas hit a free throw to make it a single-digit game again, but Taylor had a buzzer-beating tip in to push Princeton’s lead back up to 51-40 going into the fourth quarter.
“In the fourth quarter, honestly, people see our short bench, and they want to try to run on us, and usually that backfires on them,” Cobb said.
Princeton used an 18-8 run in the fourth quarter to ballon its lead to 69-48 to clinch the game.
Benjamin finished the game with 16 points, and Otis Coley scored 11 points.
Princeton (6-0 overall) travels to Hobbton (1-3) on Thursday, while Rosewood (4-1) will travel to Hobbton on Friday.