George Mawanda-Kalema’s Career High 19 Points Leads Brown Over Princeton, 78-70

Saturday, February 9

Providence, RI

6:00 pm

Brown University

14-8, 2-4Ivy

Princeton

12-7, 4-2Ivy

Princeton

BROWN

Photo by: David Silverman Photography

George Mawanda-Kalema’s Career High 19 Points Leads Brown Over Princeton, 78-70

2/9/2019 8:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Providence, R.I. – Brown sophomore George Mawanda-Kalema (Burke, VA) scored a career high 19 points and senior Obi Okolie (Ajax, Ontario) added 18 points to power the Bears past Princeton, 78-70, in an Ivy League game Saturday evening at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

Brown improves to 14-8 overall and 2-4 in the Ivy League, knocking Princeton out of first place in the Ivy standings. The Tigers fall to 12-7 overall, 4-2 in league play.

"I'm really proud of how we played," said Brown coach Mike Martin.  "That Brown team was the one we expected to see, fueled by our effort on defense. We played inspired basketball after a tough start."

Brown led by as many as 17 points in the second half, 55-38, on a trey by sophomore Desmond Cambridge (Nashville, TN) at the 17:33 mark.

The Tigers made a run at the Bears, and pulled as close as five points, 67-62, on a layup by Devin Cannady with 4:04 left on the clock. The Bears built their lead back up by 10 points with 3:14 remaining, 72-62, on a three-point play by Mawanda-Kalema and a basket by Okolie.

Again the Tigers came back to trail, 72-67, on a three-point play by Cannady, but a layup by Mawanda-Kalema made it a three possession game with 1:52 left, 74-67. The Bears hit four free throws down the stretch, including two by senior Zach Hunsaker (North Salt Lake City, UT), to put the game away.

Mawanda-Kalema, who led five double figure scorers, registered his career high for the straight game, connecting on 8-of-13 field goals, including 2-of-3 treys, in scoring 19 points. Okolie's 18 points came on 7-of-13 shooting from the field.

"I'm super proud of George," added Martin.  "He has a wonderful attitude, is all about team and was prepared for the opportunity."

Bears' sophomore Tamenang Choh (Lowell, MA) scored 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, while grabbing nine rebounds and handing out six assists, before fouling out with 5:20 remaining. Cambridge and Hunsaker added 10 points each for the Bears.

Cannady led all scorers with 24 points, while adding nine rebounds.  Myles Stephens also scored in double figures for the Tigers with 15 points.

Brown out-shot the Tigers, shooting 50-percent from the field (27-54), while holding Princeton to 39-percent shooting (25-64).

Princeton took an early 20-8 lead 10:28 mark of the opening half, but the Bears countered with a 25-6 run to grab a 33-26 advantage with 2:47 left in the half on layup by Mawanda-Kalema, who had 10 points in the spurt without missing a shot.

Brown kept up the pressure and went ahead, 41-32, on a trey by Cambridge with 1:35 left in the half. The offensive and defensive pressure kept up and the Bears grabbed a 47-35 lead at the half on two free throws by Cambridge with three seconds left, completing a 39-18 run to end the half.

Brown makes its annual swing of the Empire State next weekend, first traveling to Ithaca, NY to play Cornell on Friday, February 15 and then on to New York City for a match-up with Columbia on Saturday, February 16. Both games tip-off at 7:00 pm on ESPN+ and WPRV AM-790 radio.