PRINCETON — Caden Pierce has a sprained right ankle, but coach Mitch Henderson is hopeful he’ll be able to return for the Jan. 11 Ivy League opener against Harvard. The junior forward sat out Saturday’s 92-71 victory over Division III Kean in the non-conference finale at Jadwin Gymnasium.Pierce was dressed in a black sweatsuit, but was walking around during pregame and timeouts without the aid of crutches. “We plan on playing him Saturday,” Henderson said. “He had a little bounce in his step today (during the layup line). It was good to see him out there without the boot on.” The reigning Ivy League Player of the Year sustained the injury in the first half of the Tigers’ victory over Akron on Monday when he landed awkwardly attempting a layup. The Tigers (11-4) labored at times to gain significant separation from their NJAC opponent, but still easily managed a fourth straight win while getting everybody in the game. Philip Byriel led Princeton with 14 points, Peyton Seals scored 13 and Jackson Hicke, starting in place of Pierce, finished with 12. TCNJ 86, DeSales 68 EWING — The Lions improved to 9-3 on the season behind 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists from Nick Koch in a win Saurday against DeSales at Packer Hall. TCNJ also got double-figure scoring from Jonathan Okocha (14), David Alexandre (14) and Matthew Okorie (13). TCNJ returns to its conference schedule Wednesday when it hosts Rowan at 7 p.m.