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Princeton 62 Penn 59 (OT).

Box Score : HD Box Score

Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson, Douglas Davis, Mack Darrow & Dan Mavraides:

Insufferable. Improbable. Inexplicable. Incredible.

Princeton scored the last four points of overtime at the free throw line and somehow found a way to pull out a 62-59 win over Penn.

The Quakers had the ball up one with :38.6 to go. At the end of their possession a slipping Jack Eggleston called time out going down on a cut to try and keep the ball with his team. However, Penn was out of time outs and a technical foul was awarded.

Douglas Davis, who cracked the 1,000 point club earlier in the night, missed his first attempt but tied the game with the second.

Possession stayed with Penn and Ian Hummer stole the Quakers' inbounds pass with six on the shot clock. In the near corner inbounds man Miles Cartwright fouled Hummer and Hummer confidently made both free throws to give the Tigers a two point lead.

Zack Rosen drove into the lane and dished off to an open Fran Dougherty, who painfully threw his attempt to tie from point blank range nearly over the rim and into Dan Mavraides' hands.

Mavraides made one of two at the line and Rosen's runner from deep was wide to the left as time expired.

A spent Mavraides fell forward prone on the Jadwin Gym hardwood. It seemed borderline impossible, but Princeton had improved to 5-0 in the Ivy League.

Mavraides was one of four Tigers to score 11 points - joined by Patrick Saunders, Davis and Mack Darrow.

Tyler Bernardini hit five times from outside and tallied 19 for Penn. Bernardini's fifth triple with :03.6 left in regulation on a marvelous designed inbounds play sent the game to overtime.

From the opening tip, Princeton was in early control. The Tigers made seven of their first eight attempts and had an offensive rebound the only time they missed. Brendan Connolly won the ball from Eggleston and Mavraides drove straight down the middle for a pair.

Bernardini hooked one home from under the rim to even the score.

Ian Hummer fired from the right side and could not convert. Connolly went to the floor and kept the possession alive - a possession that ended when Connolly finally took a jumper from the top of the arc after being goaded by the sagging Penn defense and connected for two.

Conor Turley's sweet feed behind his body to Eggleston made it a 4-4 game, the last time the score would be tied until the end of regulation.

Saunders, who can get hot from outside on occasion, did just that. A curling Saunders took a Davis pass and launched from the left wing in motion for three. In transition after a Rosen miss, Mavraides set up Saunders on the opposite wing for his second triple and a 10-4 Princeton lead. Penn called time.

A cutting Davis took a Mavraides pass and scored with one hand in the lane surrounded by Quakers, giving him 996 points for his career.

Rosen beat an expiring shot clock with a three from deep on the right side to draw his team within five. Mavraides primarily drew the assignment of guarding Rosen and did an excellent job of keeping Rosen stationary, unable to create as often as he would like.

Mavraides answered Rosen earlier in the Tigers' next possession over Bernardini.

An amazing Rosen spin into the lane set up Eggleston with an open three that came up short.

Kareem Maddox, who had entered the lineup a minute previous for Connolly, found Saunders at the top of the arc out of the post for his third three pointer of the night. The Tigers had an 18-7 lead.

While Maddox was on the floor he primarily guarded Bernardini, his long arms making it harder for Bernardini to shoot over.

A free throw by Dougherty, able to get Maddox in the air, and a three pointer by Bernardini off a Rosen assist using an Eggleston screen pulled Penn within 18-11. The Tigers had a couple sloppy possessions, with Davis stripped by Rosen on the break and Saunders coming down with an offensive board on the baseline.

The miscues continued as Hummer's entry to Maddox at the free throw line was stolen by Rosen, but Rosen carried in the lane with the ball on his hip.

Mavraides went by Bernardini to his left and scored before help could arrive.

The Tigers had a pair of near-steals. First Davis almost picked off a cross-court pass, then Maddox blocked a Bernardini jumper but could not save the deflection.

Nearly three scoreless minutes for both sides ended when Maddox drew the defense and Darrow was ready to fire from the left side. Princeton had their biggest lead and Darrow had his sixth trey in 10 tries since Ivy play began.

Cartwright down the left baseline passed the ball to Dougherty rolling to the rim, fouled by Saunders in the process. The three point play was followed by Bernardini on the left block feeding Eggleston on the opposite block nicely for a short jumper.

Davis in the lane banged into Rosen and the officials decided this was a blocking foul. The foul was Rosen's second personal and Penn coach Jerome Allen kept Rosen in the game for the remaining 5:47 of the half.

Mavraides and Rosen traded turnovers - the former stripped by Bernardini and the latter losing the ball off his leg thanks to Davis' swipe.

Hummer kept his pivot and soared up for two to his left. Rosen wanted to find Eggleston at the other end but instead threw the ball into the Princeton bench.

Maddox went through his legs and then awkwardly but effectively around Bernardini off the glass for two and a 27-16 Tiger lead with 3:04 to go.

Princeton could not expand this advantage. Ben Hazel at the free throw line found Davis outside for a three that sailed long. Darrow saved the ball but could not score inside.

Zack Gordon's trey, the result of good inside/out play between he and Eggleston drew Penn within eight.

Maddox soared for an offensive board, grabbing a Hummer miss in the air and fouled by Gordon going back up. He would make one of two.

A backdoor bounce pass to Rosen was a touch long, but Rosen was able to save with a curling motion to Dougherty - fouled by Maddox on his way up. Dougherty missed both his attempts and the lead remained nine.

It would stay that way at the half. Maddox in deep could not finish and Hummer controlled the rebound in the lane, then tossed an unforced error past a diving Mavraides and into the sideline.

The Tigers went into a zone on Penn's final possession of the half, Gordon unable to shoot over it. What would temporarily go in the books as Ian Hummer's first career three point attempt came from 75' out and was on target but a touch long - drawing a gasp from the crowd.

Princeton was in decent shape at the break. The Quakers had shot 7-23 from the floor (30.4%), 3-9 from three (33.3%) and 2-5 on free throws (40.0%). Rosen had tried just two shots and turned the ball over three times. It took six jumpers for Bernardini to score his team-best five. Freshman guard Miles Cartwright was 0-4 in 18 minutes.

The Tigers dominated the glass 20-11, with Hummer and Maddox each snatching six. Princeton shot 11-25 (44.0%), 5-9 from from outside (55.6%) and 1-2 on free throws. The lead was nine despite 1-6 shooting from Hummer along with three turnovers.

When Princeton and Penn last played at Jadwin Gym, the Quakers ran off the first nine points after intermission to cut into a 40-14 Tiger lead. This year, the visitors from Philadelphia scored the first eight points after intermission, cutting a smaller Tiger lead to one.

Hummer had the ball bang off his foot to Cartwright. Rosen in transition raced for a layup and Mavraides fouled him from behind. Mavraides to a cutting Saunders did not work out as planned, Saunders unable to finish down the left baseline over Turley's arms.

Bernardini wide open on the left wing halved what Princeton had built.

Mavraides pulled up short from the free throw line and Bernardini rebounded.

Rosen lost the ball and Hummer had it for a second, before Eggleston slapped the possession away off the floor and back to Rosen. Cartwright finally got in the scoring column with a midrange jumper over Davis to make it 28-27. Princeton called time out.

In the 80 minutes Penn and Princeton played in 2010, the Tigers trailed for zero minutes and zero seconds. They weren't going to let the Quakers take their first lead since 2009 now.

With Darrow and Maddox reentering the game, a posting Maddox dished to Mavraides on the perimeter. Mavraides faked Rosen in the air with a ball fake and slid left for a three.

Bernardini answered with a three over Mavraides.

Davis crossed over his man and pulled up for two. 33-30 Princeton, 998 career points for Davis.

With Princeton overplaying Bernardini on the wing, the veteran drove to the hole for two.

Darrow's first miss of the night from outside was saved by Maddox on the baseline. Maddox set up Davis for a very Doug Davis midrange jumper - leaping high in the air and scoring softly in the pack.

With 15:34 left in his 79th collegiate game, Douglas D. Davis became the 27th member of Princeton's 1,000 point club. Play did not stop. There was applause of recognition from those who knew what had transpired. Eggleston received a no look pass from Rosen and scored on the left baseline.

At the next break in the action, the PA announcer recognized Davis' accomplishment. The Princeton fans stood and cheered. The Penn student section booed. Nice.

Davis inside the arc fed Darrow down the left baseline for a layup that just beat the shot clock. Another keen play for Darrow, who did not see time in either Penn/Princeton matchup as a freshman.

"I just point to our coaching staff and our seniors. They've provided great leadership all season," Darrow said after the game. "Even if I haven't played in this game before I think they had me ready. They have the confidence in me to make plays, so I am happy I could reward their confidence tonight."

Playing with a "four forwards/one guard" lineup of Saunders, Darrow, Maddox, Hummer and Davis - the Tigers were able to rebuild a double digit lead.

Davis from the right wing made it 40-34.

Cartwright was fouled on a drive and made one of two.

Mavraides lobbed an entry pass to Hummer in the post as Eggleston sailed by going for a steal. Hummer turned and dunked with his left hand before Cartwright could get wise.

When Mavraides dribbled right and found Darrow popping up to the left wing for three it was a 10 point lead and 11:06 remained.

Cartwright blew a solo layup long and Mavraides gave the ball back stepping out on a drive.

Maddox had an impact at both ends of the floor. First he made Cartwright look silly, Maddox' long reach creating an airball three point try. Isolating Maddox on the right wing, Maddox went behind his back twice and then past Bernardini off the glass.

Playing great, flying defense, Princeton stayed in focus for a possession that ended with Rosen's forced three catching the front of the front rim as the shot clock hit one.

Maddox twisted down the center of the lane and was fouled by Dougherty, splitting his pair. It was Penn's first personal of the half. 48-35 Tigers with 8:44 to go.

Davis had a chance to take the lead up to 16 when a driving Maddox found him outside the arc but the shot was off target.

Penn recorded two quick baskets - Rosen stealing a Maddox inbounds pass and going the other way as Mavraides opted to watch instead of fouling. Hummer was blocked inside and Gordon faked a three and pulled up for two.

Darrow made that 4-0 run disappear. Mavraides drove to the left baseline and set up Darrow for his third outside jumper. The lead was still 12 with 6:33 left.

After Maddox spun into the lane and away from Bernardini the Tigers held a 53-42 advantage with 4:42 on the clock.

Things got weird and only got weirder. You should probably sit down.

Cartwright drove right off glass for two.

A possible crowd-pleasing alley-oop on a two-on-one from Hummer to Maddox was not caught clean by Maddox in the air and Maddox instead gathered and kicked outside. The possession ended with Mavradies' missed layup and Hummer foolishly fouled Dougherty from behind.

Dougherty was a 44.4% free throw shooter coming into Tuesday, but you just don't stop the clock 80'+ from the opponent's basket and give them chances with the clock still if you want to properly hold on to a lead. Dougherty made his first freebie and missed the second. Eggleston purposely fouled Mavraides on the rebound (Penn had three fouls to give) to get Rosen back in after a rare rest.

Darrow's layup try was blocked by Gordon. Cartwright's drive had a happier fate.

Maddox charged into Bernardini in the lane, handing the ball back to Penn. Hummer blocked a Cartwright drive off the glass into Mavraides' hands. Princeton called time with 2:16 showing.

A wild Mavraides jumper was way off, Hummer sliding in to keep the possession alive. Davis' high arcing lane jumper was short and the Quakers had the ball.

While play stopped as Eggleston went down due to a poke in the eye, his vision was accurate enough to fire his only three pointer of the game over Hummer as action resumed. It was a one possession game.

Hummer went to work inside but could not score, the ball coming out to Davis for a critical offensive board.

Johnson brought Saunders into the game for Hummer and Saunders was immediately fouled by Dougherty, making both sides of a tense one-and-one.

The Quakers had :31.6 to make up five points, but ran a possession like they were playing for a final shot. The strategy did work, however. After almost 20 seconds Cartwright converted a difficult rainbow three on the far side to bring Penn within 55-53.

Davis was fouled in the backcourt. His first free throw was pure. His second was off.

Penn moved the ball to their end and used their final time out. I'm convinced that Princeton was looking to foul as soon as the Quakers inbounded, especially given that Penn would have been shooting a one-and-one.

A fantastic play, drawn up in the huddle by Penn assistant Mike Martin, did not allow the Tigers the opportunity. Bernardini set up with Rosen across from him at the top of the arc - Maddox guarding Bernardini. Then Bernardini ran to the low block, setting a downscreen. As soon as Cartwright ran up past Bernardini, the sharpshooter was off 90 degrees to the far corner. Maddox and T.J. Bray both chased Cartwright up. Gordon's skip inbounds pass met a now-unguarded Bernardini. Eggleston closed off Hummer long enough that Hummer could not get out until the tying jumper was already in the air.

Hummer's runner from beyond half court was not close and like they had done on Saturday night versus Harvard after trailing by 18, Penn was headed to overtime in a game they had never led. The sort of comeback that if you're exceptionally lucky happens once a season had been pulled off twice in 72 hours.

Maddox won the OT tip from Eggleston. A short bank by Hummer was just off and Maddox could not save.

With Maddox guarding him, Bernadini thought better of a three and settled for a long, errant two.

Mavraides passed to Hummer on the move but Hummer lost the ball going up - straight into the air and down to Cartwright.

Maddox blocked Cartwright. A Maddox jumper just inside the free throw line sailed long. Over two minutes in and neither team had scored.

Princeton played 34 seconds of quality defense until Maddox broadsided a double-clutching Cartwright in the air launching a three at the horn. Maddox's foul bailed out Cartwright and sent him to the line for three.

Cartwright's first Penn/Princeton game was one to forget and it didn't get any better when he missed his first two free throws as the Tiger student section sarcastically chanted "MVP! MVP!"

The third attempt was good. After 123:47 spanning 3/10/09 to 2/8/11, Penn finally had a lead on Princeton.

Darrow's line drive stab at glory was short after Maddox found him on the perimeter. Dougherty inside with his left made it 59-56 Quakers.

A left corner pocket Mavraides chance to tie never hit the rim. Penn had the ball looking for the dagger. The Princeton defense tightened. Maddox blocked Dougherty. Darrow blocked Bernardini, tying him up. The Quakers kept possession and Rosen's three did not come close, Maddox stabbing the rebound out of the air.

Hummer inside needed three tries for one basket. His first attempt was no good, his tip also off and his third was either tapped in by Hummer or the hand of a Quaker. It was impossible to tell. History will remember it as a dunk, I'm sure.

Penn used their last time out up one with :38.6 on the game clock and :28 on the shot clock.

Eggleston drove to his left with Hummer on him and started to lose the ball as Darrow slid over. The senior Eggleston, desperate to win in his final trip to Jadwin Gym, called time before either Hummer or Darrow could lock him up. There was a problem. The problem being Penn's lack of time outs.

"I was pulling for a traveling call because to be honest, personally I didn't know they didn't have any time outs," said Mavraides. "I knew how many we had. From what I heard a lot of our teammates knew. They were pretty excited right away and told me to be quiet and let them call a time out."

After a conference, the officiating crew correctly ruled that:

-Princeton would shoot two free throws.
-The ball would stay with Penn because possession did not change due to the gaffe.

Johnson entrusted Davis to head to the other end of Jadwin by himself with the Tigers down one.

Davis' first lonely free throw came up short. The second went down smooth.

Confirming that the shot clock should not have been turned off and that Penn had six seconds to shoot (with :16.4 left in overtime), play resumed.

Cartwright tried to inbound to Bernardini in the near corner. Hummer got his left hand on the ball and eventually put both mitts on it. Coming over from where he had inbounded, Cartwright reached in and was whistled.

I've been tough on Ian Hummer's free throw shooting this season because I know (and he knows) that he can do better than 59.7%. If he was nervous, like he admitted he was when he made two free throws with :04.8 left to fend off Harvard on Saturday, it did not show. Hummer's pair of lefty tries were perfect and the Tigers had a 61-59 lead.

Now down two with :13.4 to go, Rosen raced by Mavraides to his left and dished a lovely diagonal bounce pass to Dougherty. The easy layup was rushed and far too strong. Mavraides grabbed the ball and was fouled.

It was Mavraides' turn to put the game away with just over four seconds to go, but he could not. A first free throw, with a touch more arc than usual, went down. The senior's second rattled long to Rosen looking up.

Rosen's leaning push shot from well behind the top of the arc hit a lot of the backboard but none of the rim.

Kareem Maddox grabbed the rebound. Ben Hazel leapt in the air. Ian Hummer pumped his arms and walked to half court. Mack Darrow turned to the bench.

Dan Mavraides fell to the floor in a heap with his arms outstretched - his gesture symbolic of the exhaustion all in Jadwin Gym were suddenly overcome by.

While Johnson was not happy with how the Tigers put themselves in this position, the way his team reacted left an impact.

"It wasn't impressive. I'm not trying to lie to anybody, but they didn't break," Johnson said. "I was happy with how we responded to Pennsylvania tying the game up."

Princeton and Penn have played basketball 223 times. There have been great comebacks. There have been memorable finishes, painful losses and thrilling victories. There have been indelible moments, but Tuesday's game will stand out as a comparison years from now - one retold by those in attendance with a preface.

"You think that game we just watched was something? Let me tell you about what I saw happen in 2011 at Jadwin Gym..."

How you choose to recount what transpired is up to you. The result is always going to stay the same.

Notes:

-Princeton finished their longer-than-expected night 22-56 from the floor (39.3%), 11-31 in the second half and OT (35.6%). The Tigers went 9-17 from three (52.9%) and 9-14 on free throws (64.3%).

-Penn doubled their FG% in the second half (30.4% up to 60.9%) but like the Tigers had one OT field goal (1-8, 12.5%). The Quakers were also 9-19 from three (47.4%) and a terrible 6-13 on free throws (46.2%). Dougherty went 3-7 in the game.

-Princeton won the rebounding effort 39-32. The Tigers had 12 assists and 15 turnovers compared to Penn's reverse of 15 assists and 12 turnovers.

-Against an inferior frontcourt, Maddox did not get a remarkable number of post touches. He was 3-7 for the game, but contributed in other ways - nine rebounds, three assists and matching his career high for the second straight game with five blocks.

-Darrow is 8-12 from three point range (66.7%) in Ivy action.

-The Tigers' four overtime victories in a season sets a new program record. The school record for OT games played in a single campaign is five.

David Lewis said,

February 9, 2011 @ 5:56 am

It's amazing the this team can blow so many leads late, often in excrutiating fashion, and still win in overtime. How does Bernardini get so wide open for that last shot? He's by far and away Penn's best shooter. I was at the game and saw the replay on the Philly news. It looks like one screen and he was wide open. We obviously needed to foul there to prevent the three. I heard assistant coach Newsome say on the post-game that it was a communication/switching problem. Why not play man-to-man and just make sure that he was covered? You knew that Bernardini was going to get the ball. He was on fire. What a great shooter he is. I'm glad he's a senior. Survive and move on. I don't think this team will have any easy road games in the league.

Rodney Johnson said,

February 9, 2011 @ 7:03 am

Props to Hummer for making his two free throws, while Mavraides and Davis each missed one of two. All the more since the principle coaching strategy at the end of regulation and OT was to get Hummer off the floor when fouls were coming.

Hummer has earned the right to some trash talk with his teammates!

Jon Solomon said,

February 9, 2011 @ 9:31 am

David, I hate to break this to you, but Bernardini should be able to apply for a fifth year and will be back in 2011-12. He only played in two games last season.

James Moore said,

February 9, 2011 @ 11:15 am

Great summary, Jon, of a wacky game that I won't soon forget. The last ten minutes of regulation plus overtime were maddening. By my count, the Tigers had only one FG in that stretch, Hummer's putback in OT, which was more a deflection than a shot.

I agree with David that Bernardini was terrific offensively last night. Now that he is healthy, he is one of the best offensive players in the Ivy League.

I have a question about Eggleston's technical foul for calling a timeout when Penn had none. Why did the Tigers not get free throws plus possession? Eggleston's error brought to mind Chris Webber's similar technical foul in the 1993 National Championship game, and I remember clearly that UNC received charity shots plus possession then. Have the rules changed since? I suspect so because the Princeton coaches seemed okay with the officials' determination of the call.

See you on Friday night at Columbia?

larry said,

February 9, 2011 @ 1:08 pm

Your Q&A piece with Jon Tannenwald (Know Your Foe) identified the Penn team. Penn did what they do. We didn't do what we can do. Of all that took place last night one little sub move hit me funny. I would like to ask Coach Johnson why he took Davis out of the game at the 2:12 mark of the 1st half. We had an 11 point lead at the time and the ball. With Hazel & Davis on the floor, Mavraides checks in and Davis went off.

Jon Solomon said,

February 9, 2011 @ 2:05 pm

Larry, I did think of you last night when Connolly made his early jumper!

Jon Solomon said,

February 9, 2011 @ 2:23 pm

James,

I'd have to review the Michigan/UNC game tape. What I found on YouTube goes from 73-71 Carolina pre-technical foul with :12 showing to 77-71 with eight seconds left - supporting what you wrote.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn-_URq7K04

The distinction the officials made between a "point of interruption" technical and a "dead ball" technical at Jadwin was correct but I don't know how long this distinction has been in the books.

See you Friday!

Jon Solomon said,

February 9, 2011 @ 2:26 pm

Found it! Excellent recall, James.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/espn25/story?page=moments/59

The players on Michigan's bench scream in unison, "No! No timeouts!" No timeouts." Michigan forward James Voskuil would later say, "Web thought we said, 'Timeout!' He was arguing after the play. He yelled at a couple of our guys." Lynch would say later that "it sounded like the Michigan bench was yelling, 'Timeout, timeout!'" The result is a technical foul on Michigan. UNC's Donald Williams goes to the line. He makes both free throws, stretching UNC's lead to 75-71, an advantage that now appears insurmountable, especially since Carolina also gets possession. The ball is inbounded to Williams, who is fouled. The UNC bench goes berserk as Williams hits two more free throws, sealing the title.

larry said,

February 9, 2011 @ 3:06 pm

Jon, You know I watch Connolly. Last night Connolly won the tap. Good. He goes down into the paint and introduces himself to Turley with a hard forearm to Turley's chest. Better. Within 90 seconds he grabs an offensive rebound, hits a jumper. Great.

Jon Solomon said,

February 9, 2011 @ 3:06 pm

Ok. I did some more research. Here's a recent list of NCAA rule changes.

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2010/Rules.pdf

2000-01
Technical fouls were divided into direct (two-shot penalty) and indirect (one-shot penalty) with the ball returned to the point of interruption.

2001-02
Both direct and indirect technical fouls were penalized by two shots and returned to the point of interruption.

Thus your difference between who got the ball after Chris Webber's T and who got the ball after Jack Eggleston's T.

Jon

Jimmy Moore said,

February 9, 2011 @ 3:39 pm

Thanks for tracking that down, Jon. See you on Friday.

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