PRINCETON — New season. Even better Xaivian Lee. The junior guard scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half, including two free throws with 3.7 seconds left, and Princeton escaped a game effort from Iona to win its opener, 81-80, on Monday night at Jadwin Gymnasium. “I was worried at halftime just because we weren’t competing, myself included,” Lee said. “I didn’t doubt that we were going to win or lose the game. I told Cade (Pierce) that we may get punched in the face, but we’re always going to have a chance to win. That’s how I feel in any game.” Lee scored all 17 of those second-half points in the final 12 minute as the home team erased a 16-point deficit. He hit a tough shot over a bigger defender with 58.4 seconds left to give the Tigers (1-0) the lead, but the Gaels (0-1) retook a one-point advantage after Clarence Rupert grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a three-point play with 16.2 seconds to go. On the ensuing Princeton possession, Lee drove to the rim and drew contact. He stretched out his leg on the ground and then hopped up and knocked down two free throws. DeJour Reaves raced down the court, but missed a mid-range shot that would have been late even if had gone in. “I was trying to get downhill,” Lee said. “There wasn’t much of a play there, but in that situation we try and get something at the rim. I had a similar situation in the first half and I took a step back and coach told me you got to get to the rim there.” Caden Pierce finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Tigers. Jacob Huggins added 12 and Dalen Davis scored 10. Adam Njie Jr. led Iona with 19 points in his college debut. The Gaels trotted out an entirely new roster from the one that finished seventh in the MAAC last season. “It was a good competitive game by both teams for the first night out,” Iona coach Tobin Anderson said. “Maybe not a well played game, not a great execution game, but I thought both teams played hard and did good things.” Princeton shot 8-for-26 on 3s (30.8%), got out-rebounded (33-25) and missed 11 free throws. “I’m happy that we had a game like this right up front that taught us so much,” Tigers coach Mitch Henderson said. “There’s been a lot of noise around us and we played like it the first few minutes of the game and then we found toughness in the second half.” *** Sophomore forward Deven Austin left the team for personal reasons and was removed from the roster. Austin, who was returning from a torn ACL after missing all of last season, was expected to provide valuable wing depth. “Deven has taken a leave of absence from school. He won’t be with,” Henderson said. “We wish him the best. That’s all I can say about it. We are all hoping he can return to school when he’s ready.” The Tigers are also without Jack Scott for the season. Scott transferred to William & Mary and then back to Princeton. He is practicing with the team, but is ineligible for games.