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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Siena
Players Mentioned
Clutch Threes Give Men's Hoops an OT Win over Siena
November 28, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Down by three with the last 10 seconds of regulation ticking away, Mavraides drained the game-tying basket from distance, finding nothing but net and another five minutes of action that led to the Princeton men's basketball team defeating the Saints, 86-77 in overtime.
The Saints (2-4) have faced some strong opponents this season, including a seven-point loss to Minnesota and a 12-point defeat by Butler, both teams that are ranked in the latest ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. Siena was an NCAA Tournament team last season, losing to Purdue in the first round.
Mavraides' big shot made him just one of the stars for the Tigers against the Saints alongside Kareem Maddox, who had 30 points and 10 rebounds for his second career double-double.
Princeton (3-3) had the ball last in both of its one-possession losses at the Harrisonburg, Va., subregional of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic earlier in the week, never getting off a shot in the first game, a one-point loss to James Madison, and missing in its two-point loss to Presbyterian four days ago.
Mavraides wasn't the only Tiger to hit a clutch three in the final minute, nor was that his only such bucket. With Princeton down six points, Douglas Davis cut the deficit in half with his three-pointer with 47 seconds to play.
"They just happened to go in," Mavraides said of his two threes in the last minute of regulation. "It was good for one of those to finally drop."
Siena's Clarence Jackson, whose 16 points led the team, made both of his free throws to put the lead back to five before Mavraides hit his second three-pointer of the game with 10 seconds left to make it a two-point game at 68-66.
"He showed some guts," Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson said of Mavraides. "We're facing adversity pretty well. We have to tighten up some Xs and Os and some execution, but tonight was obviously a team effort in terms of facing adversity, probably epitomized by Dan's shot going in."
Jackson returned to the line and was true to his average on the season from the free-throw line (.750) in the final minute, making three of four. His miss kept the game at one possession, 69-66, a fortunate break that set up Mavraides' tying three-pointer.
Siena's last gasp with eight tenths of a second left, a heave by Ryan Rossiter after a long inbound pass from the opposite end of the court, fell short and the Tigers headed to overtime for the second time in as many games this season at Jadwin Gym. Rossiter was the stat-packing counterpart to Maddox, pulling down 21 rebounds as a Princeton opponent outrebounded the Tigers for the first time this season, 48-37.
Princeton never trailed in the extra frame. Breaking away from the 15th tie of the game that set up the overtime, Ian Hummer had seven of his 14 points in the final five minutes of the afternoon, including the first five Princeton points in the OT.
Maddox's third dunk of the game gave the Tigers a 76-70 lead, and only once would Siena climb within one possession when Rakeem Brookins had a bucket with 31 seconds left to make it 80-77.
"I knew it was about time to try and turn things around," Maddox said of his big game. "I've been kind of disappointed in my play thus far. It was good to come out and help the team in a different way."
Princeton scored the last six points, all from the line, to seal the win.
The Tigers reversed some negative trends with the win, having a better second half than the first from the floor for just the second time this season. Taking a four-point deficit into the locker room, Princeton shot an even 40% in the first half before upping it to 48.3% in the second. Princeton's 80.6% shooting from the free-throw line - 25 of 31 - was its best percentage of the season, and the Tigers had fewer turnovers than their opponent for the second straight game after never doing so in the first four contests of the new campaign.
Princeton will look to keep the momentum going when it travels to Lafayette for a 7 p.m. tip Tuesday. The Leopards (1-5) won the last game played in Easton by a point, 54-53, two years ago, snapping a three-game Tiger winning streak on the road in a series that dates back to Princeton's first varsity season in 1901 and has been played annually for the last 20 years.