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.
There was a change for Princeton in their starting lineup against the Bison, the Tigers first variation of the season. Patrick Saunders replaced Kareem Maddox for the opening tip. Last season, as Maddox began to come into his own, he did it off the bench - able to get a feel for the angles and opportunities of the game before entering play.
"I think [Kareem] senses that," Johnson said of his senior tri-captain. "You saw him check in and bring a lot of poise. I think he might be a little more comfortable coming off the bench."
The Tigers fell in an early 9-2 hole. Bucknell's leading scorer, Mike Muscala, faced up Brendan Connolly in the post and took a short jumper over the Princeton center.
Connolly was repeatedly one-on-one inside on the Tigers' first handful of possessions, but needed the bench to yell "You! You! You!" before he went into a post move. His first time with the ball he traveled rolling into his hook and the second time he got Muscala in the air on an up/under pivot and drew a foul, making both free throws.
Boon's putback of a Bryan Cohen miss was followed by Bryson Johnson's quick hitter from outside on the right arc.
Down five and showing frustration at Connolly's lack of initiative on the block, Johnson brought Darrow and Maddox in at the 15:58 mark.
Following a lefty drive by Colin Klebon past Mavraides, Davis answered with a three pointer. Davis took a handoff screen from Darrow but could not get a clean look at the iron so he sidestepped to his left and had enough room to launch.
With Bucknell in front 13-8 the overall team defense by the Tigers improved significantly for three possessions. The Bison were unable to get much going as they passed inside and around but Cameron Ayers bailed his team out with a pull up jumper 33 seconds into the possession.
T.J. Bray, who is earning more playing time with his defense on the perimeter, was one of five Tigers on the floor, joined by Hummer, Darrow, Mavraides and Maddox.
Maddox, for the first time this season, got the ball in the low block and went to his right into the center of the paint, rising high above the Bucknell defense for a very short jumper. It was confident, acrobatic and refreshing.
The third great defensive possession for Princeton ended with Muscala attempting a three point shot that barely hit the iron.
The ball came to Mavraides, who threw a long lead pass to Darrow that Darrow caught over his shoulder like a wide receiver and laid the ball home as he was fouled by Ryan Hill from behind. Touchdown Tigers. Darrow's free throw made it a 15-13 game.
Boon got deep position on Hummer for a short hook to right the Bucknell ship. It was the start of nine straight for the Bison, who scored on four straight possessions. The last of these four consecutive baskets was a long jumper by Joe Willman from just inside the three point arc.
Teetering down nine with 6:48 left in the half, Princeton called a 30 second time out.
The remainder of the first frame was all Tigers.
"We knew what mismatches we had and who we wanted to get it to. We were just executing," said Mavraides of this stretch. "That was a big thing coming into this game - running our stuff and executing our plays."
Davis pulled up for two as Princeton pushed the tempo. Klebon missed a jumper and Hummer went to his left inside, pushing the ball to its intended destination.
Maddox posted in the same spot where Hummer had set up and scored over Willman
One possession later Maddox went left out of the post to Saunders setting up behind the arc for three. It was Saunders' only basket of the game in eight tries.
Muscala stopped this run with a nice turning jumper over Darrow.
Mavraides got Johnson in the air with a pump fake, then stepped inside the arc for a long deuce.
Boon missed inside for Bucknell and Darrow rebounded. Boon's momentum carried him over the baseline and one other Bison player also flew in the opposite direction of the Princeton basket. Seeing that an accidental five-on-three was developing, Darrow pushed the ball to Mavraides, who went up to the rim and was fouled by Johnson. Both attempts were true and the Tigers had pulled even at 26.
Muscala missed again and Mavraides answered with his second midrange jumper to provide Princeton with a lead they wouldn't return. Muscala was called for an illegal screen and there was Mavraides a third time, spinning into a jumper that created a 30-26 Tiger edge.
With a 14 second differential between the shot clock and the game clock, Darryl Shazier missed inside the arc and a rebounding Mavraides again pushed the tempo, this time to Hummer, who was fouled by the smaller Johnson as Hummer tried to go up with the ball. Hummer's first free throw was short and the second was also off target.
Despite this pair of missed free throws, the run was still an impressive 17-2 and the Tigers led by four at intermission.
Princeton shot 11-24 in the first 20 minutes (45.8%), 3-8 from deep (37.5%) and 5-7 at the line (71.4%). Bucknell was 12-26 (46.2%), 2-7 outside the arc (28.6%) and did not attempt a free throw. The Tigers were up 17-11 on the glass.
A difficult jumper by Muscala over Connolly opened the second half scoring. Mavraides did one better, crossing over Johnson to create a sliver of space and then pulling up for an icy three.
When a posting Connolly pushed a pass to Hummer in the lane and Hummer's jumper bounced delicately on the rim an estimated six times before falling through the circle it was a seven point lead.
Muscala tried to dunk on Hummer and Hummer blocked the try but that block in the stat sheet was changed to a Muscala layup when the ball went through the iron before coming down to the floor.
The Tigers led 37-32 at the 15:35 mark, the pace of the game increasing as both teams did not hesitate to try and aggressively move forward for chances.
Using a three guard lineup of Bray, Davis, Mavraides, Hummer and Darrow seemed to work for this style. Hummer spun away from Boon down low to the glass for two.
Following a bucket by Klebon inside, Darrow rumbled across the lane and could have been called for either steps or two free throws as he went to a hook. The latter was the referee's decision and Darrow was good on his pair.
When Darrow handed back to Mavraides with a slim window to shoot in and Mavraides canned the triple it was 49-36 Tigers.
Midway through the second half, up double figures, Princeton continued to push the ball down the floor, usually in Mavraides' hands. Mavraides did not slow down after rebounding a Boon miss and found Davis in transition for a three pointer that gave the Tigers a 13 point lead with nine minutes remaining in regulation.
When nursing a lead and trying to navigate a game to its conclusion, there's one pitfall you have to avoid: Don't let the opponent score when the clock isn't moving. To be more specific: Don't let the opponent get free chances despite being 94' from their basket.
On three different occasions Princeton went over the back to foul Bucknell players on missed Tiger shots. Each time the referees blew a whistle and moved to the opposite end for gift points.
Darrow fouled Ryan Hill from behind trying to control a Hummer jumper. One make, one miss for Bucknell. 52-42.
Maddox fouled Boon over the back on a Darrow missed three. Two made free throws. 52-46.
Hummer needlessly bumped Boon from behind when Mavraides missed the front end of a one-and-one at the 5:04 mark. Two made free throws. 52-48.
"We just talked about that," Johnson said of what had transpired. "It is part of basketball IQ. Hopefully you won't see that from us in the future. It certainly allowed them to get back in it."
Hummer missed the front end of a one-and-one after being held by Cohen. He was 0-3 at the free throw line against the Bison and is now shooting just 42.9% this season (9-21).
At the other side of the court Boon caught and turned for a short jumper to bring the Bison within two.
A reeling Princeton called time with 4:33 showing.
On the brink, the Tigers went back to the plays and the players that had worked in concert to build a lead as a unit. Maddox did it at both ends, posting Boon and scoring for a four point edge then helping on defense to close and block a point blank Cameron Ayers layup attempt into Darrow's hands.
Shazier came up short on a three and Darrow rebounded, fouled by Muscala. Darrow was nothing but net on both his tries and the lead was six.
The next time Princeton had control Davis was fouled away from the ball and converted one of two free throws. The miss was Davis' first in 14 tries this season.
Boon drove left and went glass as Maddox tried for a block and a foul was called simultaneous to the ball banking in off the glass. One free throw later and Princeton's lead was 57-53.
Dribbling to his left towards the end of the next Tigers' possession, Mavraides passed back to his right where Darrow was coming up to fill his spot. Darrow showed no hesitation in rising up for a three point shot that made it a three possession game. Johnson called a time out to set the Princeton defense with 1:18 remaining.
Tuesday was in many ways a validation of all the work Darrow put in over the summer to become a player that has to be on the floor down the stretch. A lot of individual workouts four months ago in a sweltering, empty Jadwin Gym have continued to play in-game dividends.
Darrow was quick to deflect any compliments. "Coach Johnson hasn't asked anything of us that we weren't capable of doing," he said. "This summer we knew what the role would be - hit open shots and defend. Guys like Dan, Kareem, Doug and Ian make it really easy for us."
Maddox raced down to the baseline to anticipate a pass by Shazier and picked it with both hands. To ice the game, Darrow wisely passed up a three point shot towards the end of the Tiger possession and instead threw a quick pass to Maddox next to the basket for a sure-handed dunk to sew up the result.
Johnson praised his team's character and ability to respond to a game on Monday that could easily have stayed in all of their minds. Instead of feeling sorry for themselves the Tigers closed on a 14-5 run and got the win.
Notes:
-Princeton outrebounded their fourth straight foe, 40-28. Three different Tigers (eight for Maddox, seven for Mavraides and seven for Darrow) had at least seven boards.
-Bucknell shot 10-31 from the floor in the second half (32.3%) and under 40% for the game. They were 0-7 from three after intermission.
-For the second straight game Princeton shut out their opponent on fast break points. It was 8-0 Tigers versus JMU and 7-0 against Bucknell.
-There were no more than 100 people in the stands at tipoff, including ushers.
-The Tigers conclude the CBE with a game versus the Presbyterian Blue Hose at 4:30 pm ET on Wednesday. Presbyterian lost to host school James Madison 65-56 in Tuesday's nightcap.
