Men’s Basketball Comes Up Just Short In Double OT Against Minnesota

Sunday, November 14

Asheville, N.C.

7:30 PM

Princeton University

2-1,0-0Ivy League

Minnesota

3-0,0-0Big Ten

OT 1

OT 2

Minnesota

Princeton

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Men’s Basketball Comes Up Just Short In Double OT Against Minnesota

November 14, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – In a display that left the Princeton University men's basketball team much to be proud of, the Tigers took the University of Minnesota to double overtime in the final of the Asheville Championship and came up just short, 87-80, Sunday night inside Harrah's Cherokee Center.

Senior Jaelin Llewellyn led the Tigers in scoring with 19 points, while junior Tosan Evbuomwan added career-highs in points with 16, made field goals with eight, assists with seven, and also added five rebounds. It marked the second-consecutive game Evbuomwan had set a career-high in points, as he added 12 in Princeton's victory over the University of South Carolina on Friday, November 12. Evbuomwan's previous career-high in made field was five, taking place at Yale on Friday, February 14, 2020, and his previous career-high of three assists occurred during the Tigers game at Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, February 14, 2019.

Senior Ethan Wright recorded a double-double with 14 points, along with a game and career-high 18 rebounds. He topped his previous career-best of 11, from the Tigers' game at Yale on Saturday, Decemer 29, 2020, and his 18 rebounds were the most by a Princeton player since Richmond Aririguzoh '20 pulled down 18 against Arizona State University on Tuesday, November 26, 2019. Wright also tied Aririguzoh '20 for the most rebounds by a Princeton player since Mason Rocca '00 against Georgetown University on Wednesday, March 10, 1999. No Princeton player has had more than 18 rebounds since Bob Roma '79 had 19 rebounds against Villanova University on Tuesday, December 12, 1978.

Evbuomwan took it strong to the basket for the opening basket of the game at 18:12, then a sophomore Zach Martini layup with 15:12 on the clock gave Princeton a 4-2 advantage. A junior Keeshawn Kellman hook shot at 11:53 followed by a junior Ryan Langborg layup with 11:16 on the clock gave the Tigers a 10-7 lead.

Princeton would call timeout with 9:27 on the clock and ahead 15-14, then with 8:26 Martini hustled back on defense and delivered an emphatic rejection that prevented a Gopher layup. Princeton then took a 17-14 advantage thanks to an Evbuomwan layup with 8:01 on the clock.

With the score knotted at 25-25, Langborg came off a screen with 4:18 left in the half and knocked down a three-pointer to give Princeton a 28-25 advantage. Despite the Tigers lead for much of the half, the Gophers closed it out on an 11-0 run and took a 38-30 lead into halftime.

Princeton came out in the second half looking to trim Minnesota's lead, and a Llewellyn driving layup trimmed it to six at 40-34 with 17:36 left to play. The Gophers would respond with a 5-0 run to take a 45-34 lead, but freshman Mason Hooks would go on to knock down a pair of free throws then score back-to-back baskets and make it a 47-40 contest with 13:22 remaining.

A powerful two-handed dunk by Kellman at 11:46 trimmed the lead to five points at 50-45, but two-straight Minnesota baskets made it a 54-45 game at 7:47. With 6:38 on the clock, a Wright step-back three-pointer from the top of the circle led off a 7-0 Tiger run, making it a 56-53 game 4:54 left to play. A layup by Wright then made it 58-55 with 3:05 on the clock, and a Tiger timeout was called with 58.1 seconds remaining. Llewellyn finished around the rim at 0:22, knotting the score at 59-59. No winner was decided at the end of regulation, sending the game to overtime.

In overtime, an Evbuomwan three-point play with 3:13 on the clock gave Princeton a 64-63 advantage, but a 5-0 Gopher run gave them a 68-64 advantage with 2:03 left to play. A Llewellyn foray to the basket with 00.6 on the clock knotted the score at 72-72, and a Gopher timeout followed. A length-of-the-court pass to Evbuomwan landed on target, but the shot was just off, forcing the game to a second overtime.

The Gophers took an early advantage in the second overtime, but a layup by Hooks with 2:48 on the clock made it an 81-78 game, cutting the lead to three. Despite Princeton's late effort, Minnesota would hold on for the victory with a final score of 87-80.

Up Next
The Tigers return to Jadwin Gymnasium to host Marist College (1-1) on Wednesday, November 17, at 7 p.m.