Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson, Ian Hummer, Dan Mavraides & Pawel Buczak:
Extra question - Dan Mavraides & Ian Hummer:
They gave out black t-shirts shirts to everyone in attendance at IUPUI’s 1,215 seat gym before Monday night’s CBI quarterfinal versus Princeton and the Jaguars that read “Catfight in the Jungle.”
It was appropriate then that the Tigers would use up most of their nine lives to claw out an improbable 74-68 win in double overtime.
Scoring all six points of the second OT, Princeton won despite:
-Shooting a horrific 10-21 at the free throw line.
-Giving up 18 offensive rebounds.
-Being outrebounded 48-33 for the game.
-Falling behind 54-44 with 9:01 left in regulation.
A four forward lineup led the Tigers back from the brink to force bonus basketball and Ian Hummer’s offensive rebound of a Dan Mavraides jumper that deflected off the side of the backboard with 1:06 showing in the second extra frame put Princeton up a fortunate three.
“Oh man. I was pretty nervous when [Dan] shot that,” Hummer admitted. “At first I thought it was going to hit the side of the backboard but luckily it barely nicked it. It came right to me and luckily nobody was guarding me and I just laid it back up to give us a nice little cushion.”
IUPUI missed their final five shots and the Tigers had escaped, the first team to win in The Jungle this season.
Hummer was an essential part of the four forward charge, scoring 16 off the bench - 14 after the half. He was joined in double figures by Mavraides with 18 and seniors Pawel Buczak (12) and Marcus Schroeder (10).
Robert Glenn drove his way to 18 points and hauled in 16 boards for the Jags, but a key defensive switch midway through the second half limited his effectiveness in the crunch.
While Princeton fell in an identical 20-11 hole like the one that manifested itself in their CBI opener versus Duquesne, how the Tigers dropped nine behind the Jaguars was far different.
Princeton held onto the ball, getting every shot they could wish for, but the Tigers missed their first four open three pointers as IUPUI went up 4-0.
Mavraides misfired twice and Douglas Davis, playing with the face mask he eschewed on Wednesday to protect his broken nose, was also off the mark on consecutive attempts.
Patrick Saunders faked a pass and launched a high arcing triple to draw Princeton within one.
Up 5-4 after two Mavraides free throws, fouled by Sean Esposito once a block by Buczak set up Schroeder on the break - the Jaguars scored eight straight.
Glenn lost the ball, regained and scored up and under Zach Finley for a three point play. Davis turned the ball over in the backcourt, which led to a three point shot out of the far corner for Esposito for six quick points.
Davis lost the ball under minimal pressure over the left sideline and Leroy Nobles was fouled by Finley as IUPUI grabbed two consecutive offensive boards. The foul was Finley's second and he was quickly replaced by Buczak.
Nobles connected from the left wing for a three, which Davis answered from the left corner. Not to be outdone, Nobles launched from deep to make it 18-9 Jaguars.
The ordinarily stout Tigers were giving up plenty of second chances and not slowing down the IUPUI attack. Princeton's plan of putting Buczak or Finley on Glenn on the perimeter to try and coax him into jump shots was not working. Glenn was able to get a good head of steam moving to the basket.
An open Esposito made it a 25-13 game with 10:19 left in the half.
Davis' dipsy doo down the lane and a spinning righty hook by Buczak at Glenn after Mavraides took a charge on a Glenn drive drew the Tigers within eight.
Mavraides could not come over a screen clean and fouled Nobles taking a three and the Jaguar guard made all three of his chances. Mavraides put his hands on his head, refusing to believe he had been so foolish.
Down 30-19 with six minutes remaining after a Christian Siakam putback, a Buczak-led push drew Princeton even at the break.
Buczak was left open on the right baseline and turned for a true jumper.
Saunders helped Buczak on defense, coming over to block a Glenn drive off Glenn's body and out to Princeton.
Buczak drove the left baseline and threw a two-handed pass to Davis on the right side of the arc for three.
Saunders led a diving Buczak to the basket for an easy layup and Princeton was within four.
Glenn took a lob of his own and dished to a cutting Jon Avery on the opposite block to dampen Princeton's momentum, but the run wasn't done.
Another Saunders to Buczak pass resulted in an easy interior hoop.
Still trailing by four in the final 90 seconds, Mavraides faked a pass from the free throw line, spun 180 degrees to the basket and canned the short jumper.
A Nobles midrange shot bounced high enough off the rim to clip the wire hanging above the IUPUI basket and the ball went back to the Tigers.
Mavraides went to his left, found a seam and switched to his right hand for a layup that slipped through the netting two seconds before time expired.
Princeton hadn't executed like they wanted to execute on defense, they hadn't made the shots they have normally made this season, and yet they were all square, 33-33.
"That's definitely nice, going in tied at halftime, especially since I think the whole team knew that we didn't play as we should be playing," said Mavraides. "I think we're kind of used to playing down, we're used to playing up. We've been through a lot of adversity so we've been through a lot of different situations."
Princeton shot 13-23 (56.5%) over the first 20 minutes, was 3-11 from three (27.3%) after starting 0-4 and went 4-6 from the line (66.7%). Buczak's 10 paced the offense. IUPUI was 11-27 (40.7%), 4-6 from three (66.7%) and 7-8 at the line (87.5%). The 19-11 advantage by the Jaguars in the first half, including eight offensive rebounds, stood out.
The second half picked up where the first half ended. Avery was able to score high over Buczak, but Davis passed on a slightly contested three for a wide open Schroeder jumper on the left side of the arc. Schroeder stole an Avery pass and tipped it in the air, racing down the left side for a righty layup that pushed the Tigers up three.
It looked like all the momentum was on Princeton's side until Glenn scored over Buczak and drew an unexpected whistle.
Mavraides could not connect from the left wing and Avery's weakside tip-in of a Nobles miss gave the Jaguars the lead again.
Alex Young's running hook at Buczak was answered by Buczak backing down Avery in the post for two.
Nobles got a reverse layup down the left baseline to fall, which made it a 44-40 game. A three by Davis was short and the rebound came to Glenn on the move, who found Young as Schroeder fouled him for the three point play. A game that appeared under Princeton control was now led by IUPUI by seven.
Behind by 10 when Glenn drove at Buczak and scored, Hummer gave his team a bit of passion with an explosion from the left block, dunking from a stationary position with two hands over a pair of Jaguar defenders. Sensing the spark this had created, Princeton coach Sydney Johnson immediately called time, his team trailing 51-43 with 12:37 still to follow.
Three important things happened in the next three minutes.
The first was that Kareem Maddox moved over on Glenn defensively.
Glenn had one field goal (a tip follow) and two free throws across the final 22:54 of regulation and both overtimes. Maddox blocked a drive by Glenn the first time he attacked the basket.
The second was that Princeton started to get a bunch of stops. However, the Tigers were unable to match those stops with scores. Buczak beat the IUPUI press, crossed over his dribble into the lane and was fouled by John Ashworth, his layup try rolling off the rim. Buczak missed his attempts, part of a unreal struggle for even the most sound Princeton free throw shooters.
Schroeder's three point shot teased both in and out before bouncing away.
Maddox split a pair at the line to make it 52-44 but Young made two tries to take the lead back up to 10.
The third, and possibly most important thing, was that Saunders replaced Buczak and Princeton played much of the remaining nine minutes with Saunders, Hummer, Maddox and Mavraides surrounding Davis on the floor.
"That [four forward] lineup we put in every so often and I think it really works," agreed Hummer. "We have Kareem crashing the boards all the time. We have forwards that really do different things. I'll post up. Patty will hit a three. Our chemistry with those four forwards is pretty special. We know what each other can do and we know if we're all out there we'll just go hard and see what happens."
Hummer beat Siakam down the floor and Maddox found him for an easy drive.
Maddox was able to spin out of Siakam's body into the paint and score while fouled by Ashworth, but the reliable Maddox missed his second straight free throw.
Glenn gave Maddox a taste of his own medicine, blocking Maddox as he tried to rise up in the post. A dunk try by Young was no good and Mavraides scored at the other end to draw within four.
Maddox guarded Glenn on IUPUI's next possession and he lost the ball out of bounds.
Young took a long route to try and get a deep lefty running hook over Maddox, and Maddox was called for some body work. Young missed his first but made the second.
Mavraides nearly threw the ball away under a double team, then had his pass on the sidelines grabbed by Avery, who saved possession behind his back as he fell towards the stands. Nobles' right corner three was off the mark and his subsequent drive after Avery grabbed an offensive board was blocked by Saunders and went out of bounds to Princeton.
For the previous four games, Mavraides' outside shot kept coming up short. Mavraides repeatedly clipped the front of the rim and was mired in a 3-16 slump, missing his previous nine attempts behind the arc.
Try ten was on the money.
Mavraides took the ball on the right side in front of the Princeton bench - sized, spotted and splashed a game-tying jumper with 5:25 to go.
Maddox blocked a Young drive and Mavraides was ahead of the pack for a layup that finished a 13-1 Princeton run.
Asked about fatigue after the game, Mavraides disagreed that his team got tired as the night dragged on. "I think going on that run puts a little something back in us," Mavraides said. "I think I was probably more tired when we were down 10 then when we were up three."
The long arms of Maddox altered a Glenn drive, but Glenn stayed with the play and tipped his miss home.
A posting Hummer from the center of the lane found Saunders under the backboard for a layup to kick the Tigers in front 59-57 with 4:13 on the clock.
Davis tried to take a charge on a Young drive and was called for a block, Young making both free throws.
A jumper by Davis that would have put Princeton in front came up short and Saunders raced to the far corner to save an offensive rebound. Saunders tried to score inside but there was no whistle, the ball going back to Princeton. Out of a Tiger time out, Davis came up short on a pull up deuce which Ashworth rebounded.
Glenn was fouled by Maddox trying to get around to the basket with 2:23 and he made both his attempts.
Hummer's deep hook to tie was saved by Ashworth and IUPUI had the ball and the lead in the final 90 seconds. A spinning drive by Young looked like a travel but resulted in a four point Jaguar edge.
A pass by Saunders was a poor decision, trying to find Hummer or Maddox inside and going instead to IUPUI's Ashworth.
Now the Jaguars had the ball and a four point lead with less than a minute to go.
Ian Hummer saved the night.
Somehow Hummer came up with the ball from Young as IUPUI brought it up court, drove the other direction, scored and was fouled by Young.
Hummer's free throw was long to the point that it may have been intentionally missed and Avery rebounded.
Schroeder, back in the game for defensive purposes, fouled Ashworth and the 77% free throw shooter was too strong on his first attempt and short on his second try. Hummer rebounded with the shot clock off and Princeton within a pair.
Mavraides brought the ball up but the possession ended up down low with Hummer, who spun to the baseline and scored to tie things at 63 with 16 on the game clock.
Now IUPUI could hold for the final shot and the possible win, but Davis's help defense knocked the ball loose from Nobles on the left side of the circle and Hummer pounced on the loose ball, tied up with the possession arrow favoring Princeton and :01.7 showing.
Buczak threw in to Mavraides open from 40', but his attempt to win the game in regulation did not reach the rim. Still Princeton would play on.
"I saw Dan, he was as red as I've ever seen him. I think our guys were huffing and puffing a bit," Johnson said of the end of regulation. "I think they obviously got a little bit of new life, a little bit more wind once we were able to get it into the extra frames."
"I don't know how we did that."
A runner by Ashworth at Davis began overtime. Davis' drive was blocked by Glenn and Nobles could not finish inside for the Jags, his shot skimming the rim with one on the shot clock and deflecting back to IUPUI.
Hummer stole the ball from Young, drove ahead of the pack and saw his layup spin around the circumference of the rim and out as Jaguar defenders closed in every direction. Hummer sprung a second time and somehow controlled as the ball popped up and banked it home as he fell backwards to the floor.
Avery lost the ball going up for a dunk as Maddox pressured and Princeton had the rock trying to take the lead. Mavraides caught a Maddox pass in the right corner in front of the Princeton bench and hit his second straight non-desperation heave to make it a 68-65 Tiger lead.
Ashworth's attempt to tie from the top of the arc went in and out with Mavraides rebounding.
Schroeder, inbounding from under the Princeton basket, found Maddox inside and Maddox was fouled by Glenn on the catch. For the third straight time Maddox missed a free throw and kept the Tigers from going up two possessions.
Young rose up at the top of the key and knotted things at 58.
Princeton went in to Buczak, who could not score. The ball bounced around and went back to the Tigers on a deflection. Able to now hold for the final shot of overtime and with it the win, Schroeder and Buczak alternated cradling the ball at midcourt, before Buczak ended up with it at the left elbow, could not find a bounce pass on a backdoor try and went in to Hummer on the left baseline. Hummer jumped up strong, drew contact and did not get the call. Nobles rebounded and IUPUI called time with :03.4 showing.
The Jaguars threw a pass from the right sideline to Glenn guarded one-on-one by Maddox in the far corner. Glenn was able to catch and spin on Maddox but not get a great layup try on target as overtime came to a close. Still Princeton would play on.
Both teams went scoreless for nearly the first three minutes of double overtime. An open Ashworth three was off. Maddox hung in the air but was still blocked by Glenn. Maddox leapt in the air as Glenn faked a three, but Buczak stepped up and took a charge as Glenn drove into the lane.
A poorly officiated game finally broke Princeton's way. Mavraides spun into a drive and looked to have been blocked by Avery on his way up but the whistle went for the Tigers. Mavraides made his first but missed the second, part of a sub-50% night for the team from the line.
Schroeder made a big play that won't show up in the box score, the kind of big play that won't show up in the box score that he has made for the past four seasons. It was Schroeder's hand who slapped the ball off of Young's leg on a drive and out of bounds to Princeton over the baseline.
With The Tigers up one and both teams spent, Mavraides and Hummer combined for the play of the night. Mavraides had the ball on the left baseline and his defender tried to take a charge. As his man fell, Mavraides attempted to get a clean jumper off from behind the backboard. His shot could not get clear and caught the side of the frame, right to Hummer hungry for another board.
"I gave Ian a big hug after the game for that putback," said Mavraides. "I was just trying to make something happen. [My defender] played good D. It could have been a block or a charge. There was a no call. I took a jump shot from behind the backboard. I thought I had enough time to get on the other side, but I didn't. It nicked the backboard and Ian had a tremendous rebound to put it back in. He was going that all game, especially in the second half and overtime. That was something very special that he was doing."
Young could not tie from the top and Maddox tracked the ball down in the right corner. Mavraides was fouled by Glenn and he didn't help Princeton's 7-18 shooting to this point with another split - missing the first and making the second.
Finley blocked Young's layup try hard to Schroeder, who was fouled by Esposito.
Schroeder went to the line and assured his senior season would continue with two free throws.
As the final buzzer sounded, Johnson hugged his assistants out of amazement, out of relief and out of sheer exhaustion.
"We were bad from the free throw line. We gave up too many rebounds. We were able to turn them over a little bit, which helped," Johnson stated.
"It is all a blur," Johnson said - trying to take in everything that had transpired. "What I do remember is guys playing hard all the way through, more so after halftime. I thought we were not who we needed to be in the first 20 minutes. After halftime I thought we came out and we played pretty hard. We made some mistakes but it wasn't for lack of effort."
Princeton advances to play at St. Louis in the CBI semifinals on Wednesday night at 9:00 pm ET. The game will be broadcast by HDNet.
Notes:
-The Tigers finished 29-60 for the game (48.3%), 26-49 in regulation (53.1%). They were 6-20 from three (30.0%) and 10-21 at the line (47.6%).
-IUPUI went 23-62 for the game (37.1%). The Jaguars were 5-14 from deep (35.7%), 1-8 in the second half and in the overtimes. They shot 17-22 from the stripe (77.3%).
-The Jaguars controlled the glass 48-33 with 18 offensive boards.
-Princeton had but four turnovers in the second half and in the overtimes, finishing with a 13:9 assist-to-turnover ratio. IUPUI was an awful 4:18.
-Princeton's 22 wins are the most for the program in a season since 1999.
-Kareem Maddox was +17 for the game in 31:26 of action. No other player on either team was better than +8.
-The Jaguars were without senior forward Billy Pettiford, who had his appendix removed Sunday.
-Taking in the game on Monday night was Indiana governor Mitch Daniels, a 1971 Princeton graduate.
