Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson, Kareem Maddox, Marcus Schroeder & Dan Mavraides:
The question came last, from the back of the abandoned locker room turned into a makeshift press conference location.
It was directed at senior co-captain Marcus Schroeder, after Princeton's unexpected 56-53 win at Harvard to improve to 3-0 in Ivy League play.
How had things changed since his first year as a Tiger?
Schroeder danced around an answer before settling on a satisfactory sentence.
"I don't think it is time to look back yet. We have some more work to take care of."
That work includes 11 more Ivy contests, which Schroeder hopes will turn out the same way tonight's game did.
Jeremy Lin's deep three point shot at the buzzer came up short of the mark and Princeton was able to escape a hostile Lavietes Pavilion with the victory - the first team to beat Harvard at home this year.
Junior forward Kareem Maddox, who was part of a team defensive effort that troubled Lin into 6-16 shooting, scored a season high 14 off the bench, finishing three different backdoor lobs from Schroeder.
"Kareem does a great job of cutting and he's long," Schroeder said. "I just kind of lob it up there and he does of a good job of going and getting it and then he takes his time and finishes it."
Dan Mavraides also had 14 for Princeton, including a three from the far corner off an inbounds pass from Schroeder that put the Tigers up 47-33 with 4:55 to go.
A furious Crimson comeback ended with Lin pulling up from several steps behind the arc and hoisting a shot that bounded harmlessly off the front rim.
Lin finished with 19, but had difficulty finding unobstructed paths to the basket throughout the night.
Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson, Marcus Schroeder & Kareem Maddox:
Yale cut a 10 point Princeton lead in half midway through the second half and was looking to crawl closer when Tiger coach Sydney Johnson made a personnel move he had not tried all night.
Johnson sent the senior center tandem of Pawel Buczak and Zach Finley on the floor together and Princeton was able to ride their shoulders on a 19-4 run that closed out the game after the Bulldogs had pulled even.
"Tough road game. Conference play. Just to have some experience out there helped us," said Johnson after Princeton's second straight Ivy win. "At the least we just kind of settled in. Things weren't so new to us and so surprising because those guys have played a lot of time. It was effective this time around."
Buczak's high arcing jumper from just inside the three point line sailed through the net as the shot clock expired to give the Tigers a 43-40 advantage and Marcus Schroeder - who finished the night with six assists and no turnovers - found Douglas Davis for three on the right wing after Buczak cleared out two Bulldog defenders on a wide downscreen. Buczak's hesitation hook over Greg Mangano took the lead up to eight with 6:41 remaining.
Davis finished with a team best 13, but it was Princeton's ability to post Buczak, Finley, Kareem Maddox and Ian Hummer that provided the Tigers with 22 points in the paint. Maddox had a solid game, scoring nine points off the bench on 4-5 shooting and all but icing the result when he sized up a baseline jumper off a Schroeder drive to make it a 52-43 game.
Princeton was 6-6 at the free throw line in the game's final 1:13.
Alex Zampier, the Ivy League's leading scorer entering Saturday was 4-11 off the the bench and did not make a three point shot. Zampier did not start the game because he "broke a team rule" according to Yale coach James Jones. He finished with 13 points and six turnovers.
When your starting center and his backup both pick up two personal fouls in the first 3:27 of the game, a one-sided blowout isn’t a surprise.
What was a surprise is that the team hampered by foul trouble were the ones that dominated play.
With bigs Pawel Buczak and Zach Finley on the bench, Princeton used an unselfish offensive attack and a pressure defense that bothered Brown’s guards before they could get into their sets - opening the game on an 18-7 run and building a 40-18 halftime advantage - cruising to the 63-46 final.
The score of the Ivy opener wasn’t even that close. The Bears did not get within 17 points in the second half until the game’s final basket.
"That's what we do when we're at out best," said Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson after opening his third consecutive Ivy campaign with a victory. "We're trying to learn from some of our mistakes and I think that showed a little bit tonight."
Douglas Davis scored all of his game-best 16 in the first 20 minutes, set up four times behind the arc by his teammates. Ian Hummer bullied for 10 down low, eight after intermission.
Matt Mullery, the interior presence for Brown who came into Friday’s game with a lofty stat line went 2-8 from the floor and finished with 10.
"2-8 - I didn't know that," a surprised Johnson remarked afterwards. "He causes a lot of problems for people. I didn't know that we were able to do that. He's really good, so I guess we caught him on an off night, because he's really, really good."
Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson, Will Barrett & Ian Hummer:
Almost every year after Princeton has returned from their annual exam break to face a Division III foe, I've tried to ask the same question of the Tigers' head coach - "did you get what you wanted out of this game?"
While the result was barely in question on Sunday afternoon as Princeton flattened Goucher by 53 and the query went unspoken, I'd harken the answer for Sydney Johnson this time out leaned toward yes.
"We're not quite ready [for Ivy League play], but in terms of effort - if we can bottle up tonight we'll at least be in games. I thought we played hard," Johnson said after the Tigers won with their largest margin of victory since a 78-24 win over Western Maryland in 2002.
After the Gophers took a 4-3 lead 90 seconds in on Micah Perry's jumper, a 16-0 Princeton run put the game away by the second media time out and a 22-0 stretch spanning halftime allowed everyone in uniform ample experience on the court.
Douglas Davis hit six times behind the arc and had 22 points in 20 minutes. Davis left the game with 9:44 to go in the second half equaling the entire Goucher team’s point total.
I didn't get a chance to attend tonight's Mercer game, but Stephen Goldsmith was on hand to take photographs. The Vikings evened their record at 10-10 with the five point win.
Postgame audio - Coach John Thompson III & Greg Monroe:
It took almost two-and-a-half hours, 52 fouls and 57 free throws for Villanova's strengths to win out over Georgetown's strengths.
Outside trumped inside.
Big was no match for small.
At the end, the Wildcats' quartet of guards overcame a career afternoon from Hoya sophomore center Greg Monroe.
Georgetown cut a 17 point first half deficit to even at 67 with 4:34 left to play on a putback by Monroe of his own miss, and Jason Clark's drive in traffic could have given Georgetown their first lead since seven minutes in, but Clark could not finish what he started.
At the other end of the floor Scottie Reynolds, who ended the day with 27 points on 8-15 shooting, scored off glass and was fouled by Clark.
Villanova would not give this lead back in the game's final 3:14, though Georgetown missed two chances to tie from outside. Both Chris Wright and Jerelle Benimon had open looks to pull square.
Two free throws from Maalik Wayns with :06.9 remaining sealed the outcome.
Monroe scored a career high 29 to lead Georgetown, matching his personal best set earlier in the season against Harvard with 16 boards.
It was the Wildcats' first win over the Hoyas in their last six chances.
Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson, Patrick Saunders & Dan Mavraides:
Patrick Saunders has a strange-looking jump shot - a flat-footed push with a leaning backspin. But when it goes through the basket like it did on Wednesday night, it is a thing of beauty.
Saunders was a perfect 8-8 from the field and 5-5 behind the arc, setting a new career high by halftime and finishing with a game-best 21 in 22 minutes as Princeton defeated Marist 77-58.
Saunders' eight field goals without a miss matched Kit Mueller for the second-best single game shooting performance in program history. Mueller finished 8-8 from the floor on three separate occasions in his career. Barnes Hauptfuhrer still holds the school mark with an incredible 11-11 showing against Notre Dame in 1974.
Saunders' five three pointers in a game without a miss ties marksmen Dave Orlandini, Bob Scrabis and Sean Jackson for second-best in the Princeton record books. Those four gentlemen all sit one make behind current Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson, 6-6 from deep against Columbia in 1997.
"I felt pretty comfortable out there," the newly goateed Saunders said quietly after the game. "I felt like the shots I got were open coming out of the offense. They just ended up falling in."
Sophomore guard Douglas Davis connected four times from deep in five tries for 16 and Dan Mavraides added 14 for the Tigers, who shot 57.4% for the game and were 10-17 on the night from three.
Princeton had 16 assists and a season low seven turnovers.
Candon Rusin’s 16 on 6-7 shooting paced the Red Foxes.
Nick Lake's desperation turnaround jumper at the buzzer was just off the mark and Princeton's five game winning streak ended with a frigid 52-50 loss at Maine.
The Tigers trailed the entire second half, but mounted a frantic comeback in the final minute that nearly forced overtime. Lake tracked down an intentional miss at the free throw line by Kareem Maddox but was unable to connect on the right baseline.
Princeton led 6-3 on three point shots from Dan Mavraides and Douglas Davis before Maine went on an 11-0 run midway through the first half that put the Tigers in chase mode for the rest of the night.
Trailing by nine at intermission, an extended Princeton push spurred on by an 1-3-1 zone on defense that concluded with a layup from Marcus Schroeder off a Davis steal made it 26-25 with 16:19 remaining but the Tigers could not inch in front of the Black Bears.
"Defensively and offensively we never got in a flow," said Tiger head coach Sydney Johnson. "A tough game to lose."
Davis had 13 points on 4-12 shooting but he missed a number of wide open three point shots that could have effected the outcome. The entire Princeton team shot an icy 34% on the night. Mavraides added 12 and six rebounds for Princeton.
Gerald McLemore's 14 for Maine were a game high. McLemore also had three assists and four steals.
Maine won despite going 12-38 (31.6%) from the floor.
Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson, Dan Mavraides, Douglas Davis & Pawel Buczak:
The Princeton team that started 2010 on Hawk Hill against St. Joseph’s looked little like the squad that struggled to crack 40 in the last two games of 2009 versus Monmouth and Wagner.
On the road for the first of three consecutive tilts away from Jadwin Gym, Princeton made its first four three point shots and opened up an early 12-4 advantage.
Senior center Pawel Buczak, who labored to get position in the post and had difficulty scoring when he caught the ball down low to close last year was a perfect 5-5 from the field, scoring a season best 14.
Douglas Davis connected four times from outside the arc on his way to a game-high 17 points and Dan Mavraides added 16 points and seven rebounds as Princeton led for the final 37:53 of an eight point win.
Mavraides set up Davis for jumpers on consecutive drives and dishes with just over four minutes remaining to boost a tenuous Tiger lead to a 58-48 edge.
“Those were some excellent kicks from Dan,” Davis said with the smile after Princeton’s fifth straight victory. “He drove to the basket and I was able to find an open spot where he could see me.
Princeton outrebounded the Hawks by nine, the team’s largest advantage on the boards since last February’s home game versus Columbia. All eight Tigers who played 10 minutes or more each grabbed at least four rebounds.
An 11 point lead in the final minute was swiftly cut down to two by St. Joe’s, but Princeton made six straight at the free throw line to avoid the complete collapse.
Carl Jones had 17 for Saint Joseph’s, eight coming in transition early after intermission.
Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson, Kareem Maddox & Dan Mavraides:
Playing for the first time in 14 days, Princeton came close to suffering what could have been an embarrassing loss to the woeful Wagner Seahawks, rallying from a twelve point second half hole to win their sixth of the season.
Douglas Davis found Kareem Maddox alone by the basket for a two-handed dunk with just under six seconds left to bail out the Tigers, fouled by Tyler Murray on the stuff.
Maddox’s three point play capped a six point Tiger run in the game’s final minute. It was Maddox's only basket on the night.
"I think they were going for a steal to try and get the win," Maddox said modestly after Princeton's fourth straight victory. "There was one person open and it happened to be me."
Princeton junior Dan Mavraides was 5-11 from three point range, on his way to a season high 21 points. Mavraides tied the score at 42 with a deep triple off the left wing with :47 to go. The rest of the Tiger squad went 0-16 behind the line.
Postgame audio - Douglas Davis, Marcus Schroeder & Ian Hummer:
"We set the game of basketball back a little bit, but we tend to do that every time we play them anyway." - Monmouth basketball coach Dave Calloway.
When the final buzzer sounded, there was silence.
No applause, just the sound of several hundred people standing up throughout the arena, grabbing their belongings and heading for Jadwin Gym's doors.
It was a sedate end to a troublous fourteenth meeting between Monmouth and Princeton.
While the Tigers led almost the entire way, from Douglas Davis' opening three point shot through the final buzzer, the crawling pace of the game and the wide intervals between field goals left those in attendance detached, notwithstanding Princeton's third straight win.
Davis scored 20 points as Princeton eked out the murky four point victory over the visiting Hawks.
Despite shooting 0-7 from the floor in the first half, Dan Mavriades tallied 11 for the Tigers and added a career best nine rebounds.
Whitney Coleman missed a three off the right wing following a steal that would have tied the game for the Hawks and Mavraides' subsequent free throw with ten seconds left made it a two possession game, providing the final margin of victory.
Monmouth finished 0-11 from three point range.
Travis Taylor led the Hawks with 17 points, nine rebounds and six turnovers.
"I don't think it was a flawless [defensive effort], but I think that [our] focus was very, very good," said Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson after the game's conclusion. "There were very few times where I felt like we had major breakdowns."
For the second straight year, Mercer County Community College scrimmaged the Princeton JV at Jadwin Gym. It was a great opportunity to watch two teams who run similar offenses face off and also a chance to observe several Tigers in action that have seen very limited playing time this season.
While the scrimmage was scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm ET, the two teams started early. Mercer had opened with a 10-0 and Princeton had answered with 10 straight by the time I arrived.
Someone I had not seen play previously was freshman forward Mack Darrow - who showed a quick first step to the basket and scored 17 points. Darrow wore #34 on Monday night instead of his varsity jersey number of #41. The Tiger JV was outfitted with Princeton's 2008-09 uniforms, complete with VBK memorial patches.
Scott Greenman is coaching the Princeton JV this year. Greenman sported a shirt from a Princeton summer camp with the mantra "One Goal. Make Shots" printed on the chest.
Greenman's offensive strategy was to put four players around the perimeter and repeatedly lob the ball inside to Brendan Connolly (#45). The Tigers' freshman center showed why he scored so many points back in Tennessee, finishing well when surrounded and making all three of his free throw tries.
Connolly ended the exhibition with 20 points.
Junior guard Bobby Foley, who hit seven three pointers the last time these two teams met, scored 11 for the Tigers. Foley was a surprising 1-5 at the free throw line.
John Comfort (#15, shooting) scored 13 points in the first half and 16 points in the second half, including six three pointers. His 29 led all scorers.
Comfort also had...
...an explosive breakaway dunk.
Back-to-back Comfort triples made it a 73-57 Tiger lead late in the second half.
Coach Levy joked that Greenman's strategy to play man on defense after missed Tiger shots and zone on defense after made Princeton baskets threw his team off.
The Vikings went on a 22-6 run to close within two in the final minute.
Javis Williams had a pair of impressive dunks during the run...
...plus a ridiculous 360 move to score inside.
Two Darrow free throws iced the win for the Princeton JV.
Greenman, assistant coach/shot clock operator Brian Earl, Levy and Roger Gordon talk after the scrimmage's conclusion.
princetonbasketball.com was founded on April 28th, 1998 in an attempt to provide fans of the Princeton Tigers and Ivy League basketball with the best on-line source for up-to-date news and information. We have since expanded to launch a companion site, Georgetown Basketball News.
As these sites have continued to grow we have increased our coverage to include additional teams with Princeton connections - the Richmond Spiders, Denver Pioneers, Oregon State Beavers, Fairfield Stags and Mercer County Community College Vikings - plus former Tigers playing professional baseball and basketball all over the world. This site is not directly affiliated with the Friends of Princeton Basketball, Princeton University or the Princeton athletic department.
Sun. 11/10 vs. Florida A&M
Sat. 11/16 at Butler
Wed. 11/20 vs. Lafayette
Sat. 11/23 at Rice
Tue. 11/26 vs. George Mason
Sat. 11/30 at Bucknell
Sat. 12/7 vs. FDU
Wed. 12/11 at Rutgers
Sat. 12/14 at Penn State
Fri. 12/20 vs. Portland*
Sat. 12/21 vs. Pacific*
Tue. 12/31 vs. Kent State
Sat. 1/4 at Liberty
Sat. 1/11 at Penn
Sun. 1/26 vs. Kean
Fri. 1/31 at Harvard
Sat. 2/1 at Dartmouth
Fri. 2/7 vs. Columbia
Sat. 2/8 vs. Cornell
Fri. 2/14 at Brown
Sat. 2/15 at Yale
Fri. 2/21 vs. Dartmouth
Sat. 2/22 vs. Harvard
Fri. 2/28 vs. Yale
Sat. 3/1 vs. Brown
Fri. 3/7 at Cornell
Sat. 3/8 at Columbia
Tue. 3/11 vs. Penn
2,503 - B. Bradley, 1962-65
1,625 - I. Hummer, 2009-13
1,550 - D. Davis, 2008-12
1,546 - K. Mueller, 1987-91
1,451 - P. Campbell, 1959-62
1,441 - C. Robinson, 1979-83
1,428 - B. Earl, 1995-99
1,365 - B. Scrabis, 1985-89
1,321 - G. Petrie, 1967-70
1,292 - H. Haabestad, 1952-55
1,277 - G. Lewullis, 1995-99
1,239 - B. Taylor, 1970-72
1,207 - S. Goodrich 1994-98
1,133 - F. Sowinski, 1975-78
1,130 - R. Hielscher, 1991-95
1,122 - C. Thomforde, 1966-69
1,099 - T. Manakas, 1970-73
1,090 - J. Wallace, 2001-05
1,088 - C. Belz, 1956-59
1,079 - B. Hauptfuhrer, 1973-76
1,076 - B. Roma, 1976-79
1,071 - C. Mooney, 1990-94
1,064 - A. Hyland, Jr., 1960-63
1,062 - L. Brangan, 1957-60
1,057 - A. Hill, 1973-76
1,054 - D. Mavraides, 2007-11
1,044 - S. Johnson, 1993-1997
1,031 - J. Hummer, 1967-70
1,010 - W. Venable, 2001-05
