Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson, Mack Darrow & Dan Mavraides:
Returning to the floor of the JMU Convocation Center less than 24 hours after seeing a 20 point lead against James Madison evaporate, Princeton found themselves in a somewhat similar situation versus Bucknell during the second day of their College Basketball Experience subregional.
Holding a 52-39 lead on Douglas Davis' third three point shot of the afternoon, the Bison responded with 11 straight to creep within two at the 4:33 mark.
Fueled by Kareem Maddox in the post at both ends of the arena and supported by sophomore center Mack Darrow's two free throws and critical three point shot in the game's final 78 seconds, the Tigers were able to close out their second victory of the 2010-11 campaign.
Mavraides and Davis each had 16 for the Tigers. Darrow added career bests of 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Asked about an opportunity to atone so soon after a disappointing loss, Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson relished that another contest followed right around the bend without time to dwell.
"It is the best thing from a players' standpoint and also from a coaching standpoint. You want to get back out there," Johnson said. "I was happy with how they bounced back from a tough loss last night."
Bucknell's G.W. Boon led the Bison with 17 points in 26 minutes.
Two of my favorite players of the past 15 years, Oklahoma City forward Jeff Green and former Princeton great Gabe Lewullis at the TD Garden after the Thunder defeated the Celtics 89-84 on Friday night.
Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson, Douglas Davis & Dan Mavraides:
Inherently, not being able to hold a 20 point lead against a quality opponent on their home court is frustrating.
In addition to those inherent frustrations connected to what transpired there will be four separate elements of Princeton's 65-64 loss at James Madison that will gnaw in the gut of any Tiger fan between now and tomorrow afternoon's game against Bucknell.
1. You didn't see it coming.
Often, a team will be able to build a lead despite reverting to bad habits because the ball continues to find its way into the basket. Up 45-25 in the first half, the Tigers were marvelous on offense, sharing the basketball beautifully and ending almost every possession with an open shot in rhythm. It was not occurring too easily either, as can sometimes be the case. Princeton made good decisions and rewarded players in the right positions.
2. They were still where they wanted to be when they wanted to be.
After being on the wrong end of a 28-5 run and going the first 10 minutes of the second half without a basket, Princeton somehow sat in a position to win. While the Tigers fell behind by as many four in the final four minutes, Kareem Maddox's one-handed offensive rebound of a missed Ian Hummer free throw and incredible one-handed rifle pass down the baseline to Douglas Davis setting up in the far left corner actually put Princeton back in front by one with :47 left in regulation. It was the third of Princeton's three second half field goals and their only made jumper in the second half.
Today's Game:Princeton (1-1 / 0-0) vs. James Madison (1-1 / 0-0) Location: JMU Convocation Center - Harrisonburg, VA Time: 7:00 pm ET Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB TV: N/A Internet: goprincetontigers.com Series History: This is the first meeting between the two teams. Last meeting: This is the first meeting between the two teams.
Princeton
James Madison
1-0
Home Record
0-0
0-1
Away Record
1-1
0-0
Neutral Record
0-0
149
RPI
184
149
Sagarin
180
142
Pomeroy
148
69.0
Points / Game
67.5
85.0
Points Allowed / Game
71.0
.476
FG%
.522
.595
FT%
.608
.395
3PT FG%
.381
33.5
Rebounds / Game
35.0
11.5
Off. Rebounds / Game
8.5
+5.0
Rebounding Margin
+3.0
15.5
Assists / Game
11.5
21.5
Turnovers / Game
21.5
2.0
Blocks / Game
3.0
Mavraides: 21.0
Points
Moore: 16.0
Connolly: 7.5
Rebounds
Goins: 11.0
Connolly, Maddox: 3.5
Assists
Bowles, Jackson: 3.0
Maddox: 2.0
Steals
Hitchens: 1.0
Hummer, Maddox, Darrow, Barrett: 0.5
Blocks
Bowles: 1.5
Mavraides: .636
FG% (Min: 5 FGM)
Bowles: .737
Davis: 1.000
FT% (Min: 5 FTM)
Moore: .733
Mavraides: .667
3PT FG%
Goins .333
Cornell vs. Lehigh - 7:00 pm ET
A 15-0 second half run helped Georgetown (5-0) sprint past NC State for the Charleston Classic title. Hollis Thompson scored 18, one of four Hoyas in double figures in the 82-67 win.
Kevin Smith returned from an injury and Richmond (3-1) dropped Charleston Southern, 82-71.
Texas Southern surprised Oregon State (1-2) by a 66-60 score in Corvallis. The Beavers shot 1-13 from three point range in the second half against the Tigers.
Richmond vs. Charleston Southern - Chicago Invitational Challenge - 4:00 pm ET
NC State vs. Georgetown - Charleston Classic - 7:30 pm ET - ESPNU
Texas Southern vs. Oregon State - 7:30 pm ET
Dartmouth vs. Loyola (Md.) - 12:00 pm ET
Powerhouse Harcum blasted Mercer (2-3) by a 112-68 decision.
Richmond hosts Charleston Southern in the preliminary portion of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.
It will be Georgetown and NC State for the Charleston Classic crown.
Liberty High School held their Blue-White Scrimmage on Friday. Princeton recruit Denton Koon's team won the three point shooting contest.
Around the Ivy League: Christian Webster scored 29 points as Harvard (2-1) won at Mercer, 75-69. Penn (1-2) was muscled aside 77-56 by Drexel. Brown (2-1) beat Sacred Heart 81-67 behind 26 points from Peter Sullivan. Longwood scored 61 second half points in a 95-76 victory over Columbia (1-3).
The first Know! Your! Foe! for 2010-11 is up, previewing a future Princeton opponent with someone who knows the team well. This time out I talked on the phone with reporter Mark Selig, who covers the James Madison Dukes for the Daily News-Record.
Mark humored my questions about the Tigers' next adversary and offered up a detailed preview of a team that sounds like a challenge for Princeton to defend in the first meeting between the two schools.
Between our conversation and my hitting publish JMU defeated The Citadel 74-67 on Saturday night in Charleston, SC for their first win of the season. Big man Denzel Bowles led all scorers with 20 points on 10-12 shooting. Power forward Rayshawn Goins added 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Dukes outscored The Citadel 36-14 in the paint.
Can you talk about the problems that 6'10" forward Denzel Bowles presents? 31.4% of the team's possessions went through him in 2009-10 as he nearly averaged a double-double (20.8 ppg and 9.2 rpg).
He's just a really skilled post player. They can put him on the high block or the low block. He can get to the rim with a couple dribbles and when he's on the low block he just seems to have a great touch down there. He makes a lot of layups and dunks. He has an arsenal of moves - hooks shots, he's got little turns. Offensively he really is a load for other teams to stop. He might not be overly athletic but he's just so skilled he can get a lot of good shots down there.
Last year he was one of their only options so they just fed the ball to him very frequently. They would go 'four out, one in' with him and they would run their offense through him. He is also a very good passer. I think he led the CAA in assists for a big man last year. You put a double team on him and he's very good at passing out of it - that's another way he can beat you.
Harvard vs. Mercer - 3:00 pm ET
Drexel vs. Penn - 7:00 pm ET
Columbia vs. Longwood - 7:00 pm ET
Sacred Heart vs. Brown - 7:00 pm ET
Another Georgetown (4-0) victory in the Charleston Classic, another double-double for a Hoya. This time out Julian Vaughn had 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks inside as Georgetown advanced to the tournament finals with a 74-59 win over Wofford. The Hoyas play NC State for the title on Sunday evening.
Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune thinks former Northwestern forward Kevin Coble would have been better off keeping quiet and adds some previously unpublished details that dispute Coble's claims.
Around the Ivy League: Cornell (2-2) saw their 11 game home winning streak end at the hands of St. Bonaventure, 56-54. Dartmouth (1-2) entered the win column with a 71-57 win at Hartford.
Tigers head coach Sydney Johnson and princetonbasketball.com editor Jon Solomon met at Jadwin Gym on Friday morning for a in-depth discussion of Princeton's first two games against Rutgers and Duke. The pair also previewed the Tigers' trip to the Shenandoah Valley for three difficult College Basketball Experience matchups.
This interview is 21:00+ in length.
Interviews with Coach Johnson will appear on this site every week during the 2010-11 season.
Wofford vs. Georgetown - 2:30 pm ET - Charleston Classic - ESPNU
Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Northwestern - 8:00 pm ET
St. Bonaventure vs. Cornell - 7:00 pm ET
Dartmouth vs. Hartford - 7:00 pm ET
Chris Wright had 12 points and 12 assists, one of four Georgetown (3-0) players in double figures as the Hoyas advanced in the Charleston Classic with an 80-61 win over Coastal Carolina. Georgetown next plays Wofford this afternoon.
A 15 game home winning streak for Denver (0-4) came to an end with a physical 77-66 loss to Colorado State.
Northwestern opens their home slate with a game versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff. A lot of hyphens on the Wildcats' 2010-11 schedule.
Former Northwestern forward Kevin Coble says a dispute with head coach Bill Carmody over the team's trip to Italy led to Coble's decision to not return to the Wildcats.
The Liberty Tribune previews Princeton recruit Denton Koon's high school team, the Liberty Blue Jays.
Mason Rocca scored seven points off the bench in A.J. Milano's 81-71 Euroleague loss to Panathinaikos.
Around the Ivy League: Yale (1-2) became the third team from the Ancient Eight in as many seasons to win at Boston College, surprising the Eagles 75-67.
Coastal Carolina vs. Georgetown - Charleston Classic - 12:00 pm ET - ESPN+
Richmond vs. Iona - 7:30 pm ET
Colorado State vs. Denver - 9:00 pm ET - FSN Rocky Mountain
Yale vs. Boston College - 7:30 pm ET
The Town Topics discusses Princeton's first two games of the 2010-11 season.
The Trenton Times feels Princeton should benefit from their loss to Duke.
Northwestern (2-0) survived a scare from UT-Pan American, 77-71.
Princeton sits in the six hole of this week's Schuylkill 16.
Around the Ivy League: Manhattan scored the last 17 points of the game to shock Penn (1-1) by a 59-54 score. Columbia (1-2) lost a 79-66 decision to St. John's. Harvard (1-1) won their home opener decisively over Holy Cross, 72-49. They raised the Ivy League championship banner at Newman Arena for the third straight year and Cornell (2-1) bested Delaware 75-61.
Gloucester vs. MCCC - 6:00 pm ET
Northwestern vs. UT-Pan American - 8:00 pm ET
Oregon State vs. Seattle - 10:00 pm ET
Penn vs. Manhattan - 7:00 pm ET
Delaware vs. Cornell - 7:00 pm ET
Holy Cross vs. Harvard - 7:00 pm ET
Columbia vs. St. John's - 8:00 pm ET
Northwestern continues on the road at UT-Pan American.
Seattle hosts Oregon State. The Beavers are looking to avenge January's 51 point loss to the Redhawks.
The Princeton Packet has a story on the Tigers' season opener against Rutgers.
When Roy Halladay found out he had been voted this season's unanimous NL Cy Young Award winner, he was in Mexico golfing with Mike Sweeney, Chris Carpenter and Chris Young.
Around the Ivy League: Brown (1-1) was outclassed by in-state foe Rhode Island, 92-67. Dartmouth (0-2) saw a 17 point second half lead slip away and lost in the final seconds in controversial fashion to New Hampshire.
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
