Caden Pierce is just fine. The junior forward put in his best performance of the season when he went for 21 points and 14 rebounds, including the game-winning layup with 4.5 seconds left that gave Princeton a thrilling, 83-82 victory over Rutgers in the Never Forget Tribute Classic at the Prudential Center on Saturday. Pierce was named both the Lute Olson National Player of the Week and Ivy League Player of the Week for the sixth time in his career on Monday. The Lute Olson National Player of the Week Award is presented by collegeinsider.com. Pierce was also named to the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Early-Season Watch List in November. “We were just really excited for this game,” Pierce said in the aftermath. “We’re happy we got to play them again after last year. Obviously, we see the headlines, but we knew it was going to be a good test for us and we needed it. We’ve had some ups and downs throughout the start of the season, but this was a huge game for us.” His season-best outing reminded people who noticed a dip in his production that he’s still the same version of the guy who was the Ivy League Player of the Year last season. The double-double was the 24th of his career. He grabbed seven of the Tigers’ 19 offensive rebounds in the game, while also shooting 10-of-17 from the floor. Pierce is averaging 12.1 points and 7.4 rebounds. Princeton (9-4) is off until Dec. 30 when it returns to action at Jadwin with a Monday matinee against Akron (7-4).