Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson, Dan Mavraides, Kareem Maddox & Ian Hummer:
"Since I've been here, all I've ever wanted for these guys is to have the type of experience that I had [as a player] and we're getting close." - Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson
Playing in front of a high volume (both definitions) undergraduate throng decked out in orange and black, Princeton took a significant step closer to how things were when Johnson roamed the hardwood instead of the sidelines, defeating Harvard 65-61 in a meeting between two of the Ivy League’s three unbeatens.
Ian Hummer’s two free throws with :04.8 left in the second half gave the Tigers a two possession lead and snuffed the final embers of a Crimson rally.
A frustrated Hummer was forced to sit the last 14:03 of the opening stanza, picking up his second personal foul after connecting with Christian Webster attempting a three pointer on the perimeter. Three free throws sent the Tigers in their first double digit hole since behind 24-13 in November against Bucknell.
Princeton battled from down 11. When Laurent Rivard foolishly fouled Douglas Davis on a running three point try in transition with less than a second before halftime, Davis canned all three tries and the Tigers were within one.
It was the first leg of a 19-2 Princeton push that saw the home team score the initial nine of the second half to take their first lead and open up as large as an 11 point advantage.
Hummer scored 15 of his 17 in the second half, one of three Tigers in double digits. Kareem Maddox was also strong inside, scoring 14 and blocking a career best five shots. Dan Mavraides struggled with his shot, 1-9 inside the arc but 7-8 at the free throw line for 15. Mavraides’ six assists set a career high.
Keith Wright’s 16 points and 11 rebounds paced the Crimson.
Bad fortune and worse transition defense allowed Harvard to take an early 12-2 lead.
Wright was short on his first try, but Princeton's Brendan Connolly slapped a possible rebound back out to the Crimson's Oliver McNally. Brandyn Curry pulled up on a midrange jumper to activate the scoreboard.
Harvard had three baskets before the Tigers attempted a shot. A Douglas Davis pass to Patrick Saunders on the right wing was picked off by Webster, leading to a reverse drive.
Hummer drove right into the chest of Casey on his first move into the lane and at the other end Casey was able to get back into the paint for a jumper.
Connolly unknowingly closed out a Harvard big inside, allowing Hummer to go to his right off the glass.
Webster quickly answered from just inside the arc at the top of the circle.
Maddox entered the game for the first time with 16:45 to go and his team down six. That deficit would soon be 10. Curry went down the right baseline and was able to reverse around Maddox for a pair. In transition, Davis' midrange jumper was blocked by Casey and Webster pulled up for two more.
Johnson refused to call time out, instead allowing his team to play through this poor start. Mavraides bounced a backdoor pass to Maddox cutting down the right side and Maddox dunked with two hands as Casey could only watch helplessly.
After an inside/out pass from Wright bounded through Casey's legs and out of bounds across the left sideline, Mavraides left an open finger roll way short. While Mavraides was 2-5 from three point range, he was 1-9 inside the arc on Friday, including multiple missed finger rolls, slashing drives and traditional layup tries.
Hummer took himself out when he fouled Webster trying a three on the left side and the 89.2% free throw shooter made all of his opportunities.
"They were stupid fouls," said Hummer, who spent the rest of the half on the bench with his head often in his hands. "I knew the guys would pick up the slack."
As Mavraides was bodied by Casey hedging up on the perimeter, Mavraides continued floating to his left and stopped cold to fire a much-needed three point shot.
It was 17-9 Harvard after two Mavraides free throws at the 11:59 mark. Princeton's defense had been steadily improving since the game's open and the play of Ben Hazel off the bench helped sure up the perimeter.
Mavraides rebounded a Andrew Van Nest miss from outside and pulled up from the top of the arc on the move.
Jeff Georgatos went up and under Saunders inside, then Mavraides to his left passed back to Mack Darrow filling his previously occupied location on the left wing for three and a 19-15 game. Darrow was another unheralded reserve who gave Princeton huge minutes inside with Hummer unavailable. Casey and Wright were not able to get many clean interior touches. Darrow's positioning combined with the long arms of Maddox guarding entry passes did the trick.
Maddox got the ball deep under the basket, but did not go straight up. Instead a closing Casey fouled Maddox as he sprung and Casey was called for his second foul. Both free throws were good.
Casey's jumper over Darrow bumped the Harvard lead back to six.
Wright did the same with a short jump hook.
13 seconds later Wright made a try for a pass to Connolly up top that he had no chance to steal. Contact equaled Wright's second personal.
A Maddox steal went ahead to Davis, who somehow left his layup try just short at the hole. At the other end Maddox blocked a Wright attempt with one hand but Wright stayed with the ball for a four point swing and a 25-19 count.
The TIgers trailed by five after Hazel made one of two free throws, fouled hard by Webster from behind on a layup try.
As the reserves did their jobs defensively, Douglas Davis was getting his hands on loose balls and picking them off the floor. Davis stripped Oliver McNally and Maddox went around McNally at the opposite side of Jadwin Gym.
The Tigers nearly came away with a second scrum, but the Crimson passed off the floor before a whistle could sound. Curry skipped the ball to freshman sharpshooter Laurent Rivard on the left side over Maddox's reach for the Crimson's only three of the first half.
The final two minutes, which could have swung the game in either direction depending on how a minuscule number of possessions went, leaned towards the Tigers.
Davis's long, guarded jumper on the right side was long and Darrow's tip had too much on it. Wright could not take his team back up eight and Hazel driving the left baseline passed across his body to Maddox in the lane. The ball clipped Maddox's knee and Maddox controlled up with his left off the glass.
Webster made it 30-24 with two free throws after Mavraides reached in.
Maddox hung on Rivard for a four point difference.
Holding for the final shot of the half, Curry launched with six seconds and Davis rebounded two ticks later. Racing up the court looking for a space to fire, Davis began to push a one-handed runner in the direction of the Princeton basket as time nearly expired. Just as the shot was leaving his hands, Rivard fouled Davis in mid-air. After the officials reviewed the monitor, it was confirmed that the whistle sounded with half a second to go. Davis calmly made all three attempts and a half where Princeton trailed by as many as 11 and saw their leading scorer a non-factor ended with the Tigers down 30-29.
Princeton's 9-26 (34.6%) shooting was a season low for a first half. The Tigers hit 3-8 three pointers (37.5%) and went 8-9 at the line (88.9%). Maddox had 10, Mavraides eight despite going 0-4 from two point range.
Harvard made 11-23 in the half (47.8%), 1-5 from three (20.0%) and 7-7 on free throws (100.0%). Webster's 11 led all scorers. The Crimson committed seven turnovers.
Johnson liked Princeton's position at the break.
"We were defending and that's who we are. We talked about all this week, we had to get back to how we were supposed to defend. I think that reveals a lot of character. It is easy to come down and score and make a three or a post move - that's individually focused and that's ok. You see the collective spirit when you defend," Johnson said. "I thought we were defending pretty dang well and it kept us in the ballgame."
Wright missed inside when play resumed. Mavraides rebounded. A guarded Mavraides on the right side wisely passed to the more open Davis next to him and Princeton had their first lead of the game.
Even when the Tigers missed, they were getting point blank tries. Hummer took a zip pass under the basket but could not control well enough to reverse it home around Casey.
With the shot clock running low, Maddox blocked a one-handed Webster desperation attempt from deep and controlled. As Maddox turned up court with the Tigers wielding a numerical advantage, the whistle blew and a shot clock violation was ruled despite Princeton holding possession before time expired.
No matter, Connolly lobbed a backdoor pass to Hummer for two.
When Connolly lost the ball going up inside and a whirling Maddox picked it up and laid it home the lead was 36-30 Tigers.
Curry was fouled going to his left and the 74.5% free throw shooter missed a pair. Mavraides rushed a drive well long, instead a perfect pass to Darrow on the opposite side of the rim.
McNally's drive into the lane drew defenders and Casey was able to rattle home a midrange jumper.
Mavraides fed Hummer for a reverse before McNally's miss at the top. Darrow didn't miss, taking a Hummer pass from down low and stepping into his second three pointer of the contest.
Harvard coach Tommy Amaker had been waiting for the pending media time out to occur but with no natural stoppages, was forced to call time out. Darrow gestured to the student section as Princeton huddled with a 43-32 lead, concluding a 19-2 half-spanning run.
"That's all them," Johnson said, crediting his team's effort during this stretch. "We tried to address some things defensively, even though I thought at times in the first half we were very, very good defensively. There were some things we needed to tighten up. The guys just came out and really dug in. It was a pretty special thing to see, at least in that stretch, how passionate we were and it was nice from a coaching aspect to see that."
A designed inbounds lob to Casey resulted in a offensive foul, Casey flagged for pushing off as the ball went up. Casey stayed on the floor and rebounded an open Davis three try from the right side that would have made the Princeton student section lose their collective mind.
Wright inside was offset by Hummer in the lane - shaking his man and finishing softly.
After two Wright free throws, Hummer tried to catch the Harvard defense napping, skying from the right wing and looking to throw it down one-handed. His ambitious choice backfired and Saunders' tap was off the mark.
Curry shaved to the tin for two and a 45-38 count.
A shrewd Saunders got free under the rim and waited for Casey to leave his feet before going up, resulting in Casey's fourth personal. Saunders made both free throws.
Some players flop in an uneducated manner, flying 10 feet off the court when brushed by a smaller defender. Other players are wise and well-prepared when guarded a bigger man. Put Ian Hummer in the second of those two categories. With Wright calling for the ball, Hummer knew that Wright would immediately drop back into him as his first post move with the ball. Hummer set himself for the contact and fell as Wright banged backwards, giving the official no choice but to call Wright for his fourth personal. Harvard's pair of talented bigs would be playing the back half of the second half with four fouls each.
The Crimson had to switch to a zone on defense to try and protect their big men.
"Not only did they have to put a smaller guy on myself, Ian, Brendan and Mack, [Wright and Casey] had to play a little tentatively because [they] want to stay in the game," analyzed Maddox. "I think that was a critical part of the run we went on."
Following a Maddox save of a Rivard miscue into Mavraides' hands, Mavraides attacked and flipped the ball over his head off the glass to rebuild an 11 point lead.
A Wright basket inside, shooting before the double team arrived, was countered by Darrow's laser to Hummer - reversing a spinning shot around Casey for an extremely high degree of difficulty.
Wright scored again on Darrow, starting to get good positioning and setting himself on welcome angles.
A pair of Wright free throws drew Harvard within 51-46.
Hummer came into the lane and was strong enough to spin baseline and muscle up a shot as Curry came across to foul. Hummer's free throw was true.
Wright nearly equaled Hummer's feat, going from deep under the rim and up as Connolly fouled him. The ball tickled the front iron and dropped. Wright could not convert his free throw, which came into Hummer's hands.
Maddox went over Casey and his four personal fouls inside. 56-48.
Casey's dunk try looked to have been blocked clean by Hummer. A whistle on Hummer disputed that assessment. Hummer put both hands on his head in disbelief as Johnson did the same next to the Princeton bench. Casey made both his tries.
A Mavraides pull up on the left side with the shot clock low came up short, but Darrow grabbed an offensive board and dribbled to the left corner before able to kick back out. Mavraides' strong drive finished short off the iron and Harvard had the ball, albeit with 22 extra seconds off the clock.
Webster hung in the air, protecting the ball from Maddox's arms and acrobatically banking it home. Harvard called time down 56-52 with 2:23 showing.
Johnson switched Davis and Darrow out for T.J. Bray and Connolly frequently down the stretch, using the latter combo for defensive purposes.
Hummer went to his right hand, a soft floater dropping for a six point game.
Rivard's three point try was deflected in the air by Maddox and Mavraides collected, fouled by Webster. With Harvard now entering the first bonus, Mavraides made both sides of his one and one.
Harvard ran a great designed play for their deep threat. Curry brought the ball up, then turned 180 degrees to toss backwards to Rivard trailing the play. From NBA range but unobstructed, Rivard converted the open shot.
Facing full court pressure, the inbounding Mavraides and Maddox broke the first line of defense. Nearly at half court, Hummer attempted a diagonal pass to Davis in friendly territory. This try was deflected by Casey into Webster's hands.
Hummer stole the ball back from Brandyn Curry as he picked a passing lane and was fouled hard by Rivard as he tried to get up to the rim. The foul was decreed on the floor and Hummer missed the front end of the one and one.
Bray and Connolly double teamed Casey on the left block but Bray was called for a reach. Casey missed his first but made his second at the line for a 60-56 storyline.
Mavraides was fouled in the backcourt, his team still one foul from the double bonus. His first went down, his second did not.
Rivard's incredible three floating towards the left sideline changed the score to 61-59 with :18.3 showing.
An inbounding Mavraides passed to Maddox in the left corner, back to Maddox on the other side and Mavraides was fouled by McNally coming up the right sideline.
This time Mavraides was perfect with his pair.
Harvard opted to bypass the quick three, a curling Casey dunking a feed from Curry with six seconds to go.
Hummer could not be removed for a more sure free throw shooter and Mavraides' inbounds came to Hummer in the left corner. :04.8 stood on the clock. Princeton was in front 63-61. A sophomore forward making 59.7% of his free throws coming into the contest had the game in his hands.
Hummer's first try left his left hand. Good. His second was identical.
"The first shot after I made it was ok, but then as soon as I got the ball, I'm not going to lie, I was quite nervous," Hummer confessed.
Webster's long inbounds pass was picked off by Hummer for good measure and Mavraides ran out the clock down the left sideline past the roars of the Princeton student section, a group Johnson called simply "spectacular."
Three Ivy games down. One step closer.
Notes:
-Princeton won despite shooting a season low from the floor, their first time under 40% in 2010-11. The Tigers hit 21-53 (39.6%), 5-14 from three (35.7%) and a crucial 18-21 on free throws (85.7%).
-Harvard went 21-48 (43.8%), 3-16 from three (18.8%) with all the makes belonging to Rivard and 16-20 on free throws (80.0%). The Crimson were third in the nation for FT% coming into Friday's game and improved that number slightly.
-The loss was Harvard's first this season when attempting fewer than 20 three pointers and the Crimson's first loss this season when attempting more than 15 free throws.
-Princeton made 15-32 dunks/layups/tips (46.9%) and were 1-7 on two point jumpers (14.3%).
-Mavraides may have struggled to convert shots inside the arc, but he did contribute seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Coming off an eight turnover game, Mavraides gave the ball away once.
-Ben Hazel's 13 minutes were a career high.
