PRINCETON — Jack Stanton checked into the game for the first time with six minutes remaining and Princeton trailing Columbia by 13 points. This was the freshman’s chance to come out of the freezer and make an impact on the season. Stanton took his opportunity by hitting a big 3 as part of the Tigers’ dramatic rally that stunned the visiting Lions and lifted them to a seventh straight victory and 3-0 start in the Ivy League play. “Every day, the freshmen, we are always in the gym early working out,” Stanton said. “We know we aren’t going to play that much, but we’re just waiting for our time to show. When it’s ready, we’re warm, we’re going to be in there and play our hardest.” Stanton has appeared in 15 games, but the majority of his 101 minutes played have come against either Division III opposition or games that weren’t in the balance. That doesn’t mean coach Mitch Henderson doesn’t value his ability because he sees what Stanton has to offer in practice. On an afternoon in which past-comeback hero Dalen Davis was stuck in a scoreless 0-for-7 and the Tigers needed a spark, Henderson turned to one of his rookies. “He destroys our team every day in practice and I’m the knucklehead who doesn’t play him,” Henderson said. “I was looking for him to do what he does against us and he did it.” To illustrate the confidence Henderson has in Stanton, he dialed up a sideline-out-of -bounds play for him to come off a screen and take a 3-pointer. “Coach whispers to me ‘shoot it!’ I had to put it up or else I wouldn’t have another chance,” Stanton said. “I got open, someone set me a good screen and saw the rim and rose up.” The result? A momentum swinging trey that cut the lead to four and got the 3,811 inside Jadwin to their feet. The Tigers, of course, completed the comeback by erasing a 19-point deficit with 7:45 remaining thanks to a 33-10 finish. “He sat for 35 minutes and he came in a drilled a right-to-left (three),” game-winner Xaivian Lee said. “That’s a ridiculous shot to make. Watching the game it might seem easy, but to sit that long and hit that shot is unbelievable.” Princeton men’s basketball rallies from 19-point second-half deficit to stun Columbia What helped him meet that moment? “I just know that guys have faith in me and I have faith in them,” Stanton said. “When we line up against the other team I can pick any one of our guys and say they have a better trait than this guy or this guy is better than this guy.” After having watched thrilling Princeton moments as a commit last season, he’s now been part of a few in the orange and black. “It’s awesome,” Stanton said. “Before, I watched them and it’s like that’s an awesome shot and I’m happy. Now that you are part of the team and you’ve seen stuff and what everyone works on it’s really just special and magic.”