PRINCETON — After taking its lumps early in the season against Trenton and Ewing, the Robbinsville boys basketball team wanted to get back to the basics. Make the right play. Cut hard. Screen hard. Take advantage of odd-man situations. Head coach Conor Hayes harped on these principles in practice, and it has translated to wins in five of the Ravens’ last six games including a 57-42 road victory Tuesday at Princeton High. “We’ve really broken down: when we do face adversity in games, what do we need to do?” Hayes said. “It’s nothing different. It’s not like we’re calling thousands of plays out there. It’s: run our base offense, get a stop on defense … just getting back to our core principles and executing them together with no fear and with confidence in each other.” Robbinsville’s Liam Butler dunks the ball against Princeton High during a CVC boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Princeton. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Robbinsville’s Tyler Bunnell, 12, drives to the basket against Princeton High during a CVC boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Princeton. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Robbinsville’s Jackson Davis, 2, pushes the ball up the court against Princeton High during a CVC boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Princeton. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Robbinsville’s Gavin Hopkins, bottom, dives on the floor to grab a loose ball away from Princeton High’s Noah Wadler, 3, as Robbinsville’s Connor Yuncza, 21, looks on during a CVC boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Princeton. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Princeton High’s Stirling White, 23, looks for a lane to the basket against Robbinsville during a CVC boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Princeton. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Robbinsville’s Tyler Bunnell looks on against Princeton High during a CVC boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Princeton. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Princeton High’s Samuel Raymond, front, drives to the basket as Robbinsville’s Gavin Hopkins, back, defends during a CVC boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Princeton. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Princeton High’s Zion Madden, 5, follows through on his 3-point attempt against Robbinsville during a CVC boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Princeton. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Princeton High coach Patrick Noone, right, talks with guard Noah Wadler, left, against Robbinsville during a CVC boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Princeton. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Robbinsville coach Conor Hayes, right, talks with forward Liam Butler, left, against Princeton High during a CVC boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Princeton. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Show Caption1 of 10Robbinsville’s Liam Butler dunks the ball against Princeton High during a CVC boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Princeton. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Expand Robbinsville (6-5) looked that way for the better part of 32 minutes against Princeton (4-7) with strong fundamental defense leading to several steals and effective ball movement leading to easy baskets. Tyler Bunnell led all scorers with 20 points and Jackson Davis added 13 as the Ravens gained the lead for good midway through the first quarter and pulled ahead by as many as 19 in the fourth quarter. “We’re trying to focus more in on the little things at practice,” Bunnell said. “In the first few games we were 1-4, and we knew that’s not who we were. We needed to find our identity, and we’re still working towards that. We just got finally back above .500, and we’re gonna work towards a very good winning season and hopefully win some playoff games.” Bunnell, Robbinsville’s 6-foot-4 senior forward who controls the paint, felt the team didn’t come out with enough fire in the first half. He supplied plenty in the second half after Princeton closed to within 24-19 with less than seven minutes left in the third quarter, dropping 14 points in the final 14 minutes including an offensive putback early in the fourth. Robbinsville took control with a 16-5 run in the third quarter. “I thought tonight we still made a few too many mistakes, but the guys know — we had a long talk yesterday — from here on out, we’re getting held accountable for not making the right play,” Hayes said. “I thought in that third quarter, Princeton went on a little run off us doing some things out of character. But huge credit to Julian Malunow and Dylan McEvoy, they came in and started making the right play — Dylan with some huge rebounds, Julian with some big plays — and really got us back to a comfort zone. And then our starters came in and really kind of put the game out of reach.” Gavin Hopkins netted eight points, Liam Butler had six, and Connor Yuncza and McEvoy each connected on a 3-pointer. Both teams had eight different scorers, although no Princeton players reached double figures. Jaden Colvin came the closest with nine points. It was the type of defensive effort that Robbinsville wants to build on over the next few weeks leading up to the CVC Tournament. “It’s a learning process each season,” Hayes said. “I love the group I have, but we definitely need to continue to mature and continue to grow as a unit.” This season was particularly challenging at the outset because Bunnell and Butler were Robbinsville’s only returning players with significant varsity experience, partly because of injuries last winter. But the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to come together with the goal of being a contender in the CVC Tournament. “Fully believe,” Bunnell said. “Last year we were in the same position and we ended up picking it up towards the end of the season in the tournament, knocking off the one seed, and we’re looking forward to hopefully getting a high seed and we’re looking forward to making it as far as we can.” ROBBINSVILLE (57) Bunnell 8-4-20, Davis 6-0-13, Hopkins 3-1-8, Butler 2-2-6, McEvoy 1-0-3, Yuncza 1-0-3, Vannozzi 1-0-2, Malunow 1-0-2. Totals — 23-7-57. PRINCETON (42) Colvin 4-1-9, White 3-0-7, Madden 3-1-7, Frenia 2-2-6, Gordon 2-0-4, Wadler 1-0-3, Raymond 1-1-3, Ghaim 1-0-3. Totals — 17-5-42. Robbinsville (6-5) 11 13 20 13 — 57 Princeton (4-7) 9 5 15 13 — 42 3-point goals: Hopkins, McEvoy, Yuncza, Davis (R), White 2, Wadler, Ghaim (P). ...read more read less