Ed Persia
Class of 2000
*All-State 5A TAAPS
*2 Time TAAPS Male Athlete of the Year
Class: ---------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Persia
Named Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Week
Princeton senior guard Ed Persia has been named the Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Week after averaging 20.5 points per game in leading the Tigers to a win at Loyola and a near-miss against seventh-ranked Oklahoma last week. Persia scored 15 of his team-high 19 points against Oklahoma in the first half as the Tigers took a 27-26 halftime lead, and the senior guard finished the game 8 for 13 from the field and 2 for 4 from three-point range. He also had four assists and just one turnover in 36 minutes against the No. 7 Sooners. Earlier in the week, at Loyola, he tied a career high with 22 points, shooting 7 for 13 from the field and 5 for 5 from the free-throw line. Persia scored 10 of his points in a 22-5 Princeton run that opened the game and also added two assists and two steals. For the week, Persia shot 15 for 26 from the field and 5 for 13 from three-point range. The Beaumont, Texas, native now ranks eighth all-time at Princeton with 129 career three-pointers. He also is a perfect 8 for 8 from the free-throw line for the season. Persia, a co-captain for the Tigers, is now second on the team in scoring (10.5 ppg) and assists (36, 3.6 apg). He also leads the Ivy League in assist-to-turnover ratio (36-16, 2.25-1). The Tigers (5-5) host Monmouth at Jadwin Gym Wednesday night (7:30 p.m.) and travel to Minnesota Saturday night (8 p.m. EST, YES Network, ESPN Full Court) before a 16-day break between games due to final exams. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Miracle
Shot Sends Princeton Past Monmouth At Buzzer
Audio Video
Princeton, which used a 10-point rally to get even with Monmouth midway through the second half, forced a Geoff Owens miss and tied up the rebound to earn the final shot. With .07 seconds remaining on the clock and both coaches likely thinking overtime, Will Venable sent an inbounds pass to Persia, who stood in front of the Monmouth bench. Then he turned, aimed and fired at a basket 75 feet away. "It was a turn and heave," said Persia, whose only three-pointer of the game sent the Tigers to 2-2 on the young season. "It brought me back to my high school quarterback days. Right when it left my hand, I knew it had a chance. It seemed like it took an hour to get there." After banking in, a stunned gymnasium - players, coaches and fans alike - watched one official sprint to the table with both arms in the air, signaling the make and the win. The victory, which will be remembered for the final shot, also came about after key plays in the final minutes by Princeton upperclassmen, especially Kyle Wente. It took a strong comeback - and a little magic - to overcome early misses and misplays by the Tigers. "We got openings, but we missed," head coach John Thompson said. "We're going to play better; we have to. You come away with a win like that, and you're happy, but we know we have to play better." Poor shooting and foul trouble plagued Princeton early in the second half. The Tigers scored seven points over the first 10 minutes of the half, and an over-the-back call sent Ray Robins to the bench with four fouls. At the time he went to the bench, Monmouth held a 43-37 lead. An off-balance shot banked in for Blake Hamilton on the Hawks' ensuing possession, opening up an eight-point lead for Monmouth, the biggest lead for either team. Wente finally ended Monmouth's run by converting on a pair of free throws after being fouled while cutting to the basket. The shots cut the lead to 45-39 with 9:37 remaining and gave Princeton a chance to regroup at the media timeout. The Tigers got its fair share of opportunities to cut into the lead following the timeout, but they missed shots from both three-point range and under the basket. After stumbling offensively for a three-minute span, Krayl drove the baseline for a layup and Owens scored on another close jumper to open up a double-digit lead. Following a layup in traffic by Princeton's Ed Persia and a pair of missed open jumpers by Monmouth, Spencer Gloger hit his first three-pointer of the half to cut the deficit to five points. The Tigers were forced to make up the remainder of the deficit with Robins, who was called for his fifth foul seconds later. Wente continued the rally by draining Princeton's second consecutive long ball of the half. Its trademark tough team defense forced Monmouth into a bad shot, and Wente found Will Venable alone under the basket with just less than four minutes remaining to complete the 10-0 run and force the tie. Owens reopened the lead for Monmouth by converting on both ends of a one-and-one, but Persia, an 80% free-throw shooter last season, evened the score again by matching Owens' efforts. Krayl continued the free-throw shooting exhibition by hitting the first of a one-and-one, but a miss and a soaring rebound by Wente gave Princeton a shot at its first lead since the opening half. Gloger was fouled on a drive by Tom Kaplan and drained both attempts, giving Princeton a 53-52 lead with 1:52 remaining. Monmouth executed perfectly out of a timeout, and Krayl buried an open three-pointer, but a driving layup through traffic by Venable again evened the score. The Hawks took a timeout to draw up a play, but an early foul call on Judson Wallace gave Owens two free throws to take the lead. An attempted three-pointer by Hegseth was missed, but a running tip by Wente went in. After a miss by Owens, Gloger and a Monmouth player tied up the rebound. The possession arrow went Princeton's way, setting up Persia's magical shot. While both teams held leads during the first half, neither could put together enough of a surge to get much distance from its opponent. Princeton made more three-point baskets (seven) than two-point baskets (six), thanks mostly to a 4-for-7 performance from Robins. Freshman Scott Greenman calmly buried the first two shots of his career, both coming on quick three-point shots. Princeton could have found itself ahead at halftime, but three missed layups midway through the half kept Monmouth close. The Hawks rallied late in the half and managed to make it 33-33 at intermission. Monmouth got some major support from its bench, namely Chris Kenny, who scored eight points and hit two three-pointers during the first half. Princeton will continue its nonleague stretch in December on Saturday when it travels to Lafayette for an 8 p.m. contest. Princeton defeated Lafayette 67-61 last year and leads the all-time series 7-3. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2003-04 ... Has started all five games ... season-high 11 points at UMBC ... 3 for 5 from three-point range in that game ... 19 assists and just nine turnovers in five games ... eight points at Fresno State ... scored seven points against both Colgate and Holy Cross ... needs three three-pointers to move into eighth place on all-time list at Princeton (currently with 118) ... team co-captain. 2002-03 É One of three Tigers to play in all 27 games ... started 20 games ... averaged 8.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game ... led the Tigers with 48 three-pointers and shot a team-best 40.3% from beyond the arc ... played 32 minutes or more in each of the last nine games of the season after playing 30 or more minutes just six times in the first 18 games ... tied career high with 22 points against Penn in regular-season finale at Jadwin Gym March 11 ... also had 22 points, shooting 9 for 13 from the field and 4 for 8 from three-point range, against Brown at Jadwin Gym Feb. 14 ... hit an 80-foot buzzer-beater as time expired to beat Monmouth Dec. 3 ... miracle shot was featured on ESPNÕs SportsCenter later that night ... scored 20 points in loss to Santa Clara in Cable Car Classic championship game Dec. 28 ... 16 points in win at Cornell Feb. 8 ... 13 points and career-best six assists against UMBC Jan. 7 ... also scored 13 points and had five assists at Brown March 1 ... career-best seven rebounds in win at Lafayette Dec. 7 ... made at least one three-pointer in 23 of 27 games and had at least two three-pointers in 15 of 27 games. 2001-02 É Averaged 17.5 minutes per game as first guard off bench ... averaged 20.2 minutes per game for final 14 games ... made 28 of final 69 three-pointers (41%) after making two of first 14 (14.3%) ... shot 80.4% from the foul line ... had 11 points in 10 minutes in NIT game at Louisville .. was 3 for 3 from three-point range and put Princeton ahead with reverse layup with 10 seconds remaining against Louisville ... had 18 points in home win over Dartmouth ... had 16 points in home win over Yale ... shot 3 for 6 from three-point range against Kansas. 2000-01 É Played in 27 games, starting 24 ... had six double-figure games ... was named Ivy Rookie of the Week after scoring 19 points on 5 for 11 three-point shooting at First Merchants Classic at Ball State ... had 17 points against Cornell in first Ivy game ... was 6 for 11 from the field, 4 for 8 from three-point range, in NCAA game against North Carolina ... had three assists against UNC ... had 10 points at home against Yale and 12 points at home against Harvard ... was 4 for 4 on three-point shots against Lafayette ... had five assists against Monmouth. At Monsignor Kelly H.S. Lettered four times each in football and basketball ... was named TAAPS Most Outstanding Athlete his junior and senior years ... averaged 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds per game as a senior ... scored nearly 2,500 points ... was an all-state selection in both basketball and football all four years of high school ... a McDonaldÕs All-America nominee ... basketball team was state runner-up ... football team won state championship junior year ... was the MVP of the state championship football game ... played quarterback and free safety ... member of National Honor Society ... member of Math Honor Society ... WhoÕs Who in American High School Students. Personal Born March 15, 1982 ... son of Mike and Christy Persia ... father is a financial consultant ... both parents are graduates of Texas Christian ... has an older brother Mike, a younger brother Wesley and a younger sister Hannah ... a politics major. Obtained at www.goprincetontigers.collegesports.com |
