M. basketball battles back at Minnesota, but comes up short

With two and a half minutes left in Saturday night's game at Minnesota (8-5 overall), the men's basketball team (6-6) found itself in a familiar position: on the road against a team from a major conference and in position to pull off an upset.

But, yet again, the close calls and lucky bounces that so often determine a tight game would not go the Tigers' way, as they fell 57-53. Five of Princeton's (6-6) losses have come by four points or fewer.

"We're definitely a little tired of coming close like this," junior forward Andre Logan said. "We came out against these teams with the idea of winning and it's a little frustrating not to be able to do that."

After trailing throughout the contest, the Tigers mounted an 11-1 rally that tied the game, 48-48, with two minutes, 42 seconds to play. Junior guard Will Venable stole a lazy cross-court pass and took it coast-to-coast for an open layup that punctuated the run.

The Golden Gophers reclaimed the lead with two foul shots on their next possession, setting the stage for the most controversial call of the night. After a long possession that included an offensive rebound from senior guard Ed Persia, Logan penetrated into the lane and kicked the ball out to Persia for a wide-open three from the left wing.

But while the ball was still in the air — it would rattle in and out — the play was whistled dead due to a dubious player control foul called on Logan. Making matters worse, a quick technical was called on head coach John Thompson '88, for expressing his displeasure a bit too vehemently.

Thompson had good reason to be upset, however. Nearly every close call in the lane went to the Gophers. Forward Stan Gaines unofficially drew four charges, including the final one on Logan that sent Thompson over the edge.

"If I were a referee I never would have called [the final charge]," Persia said. "For the particular timing in the game, I think it was ridiculous. They got a lot of calls that could have gone either way."

Although the foul by no means put the game out of reach, the sequence seemed to instantly eradicate all of the momentum the Tigers had accrued during the late charge. With 50 seconds left, Venable missed a three that would have tied the game, and Minnesota hit four of six free throws to hold on for the win.

Both teams struggled to score early on, as Minnesota stymied Princeton's offense by sagging inside and doubling junior center Judson Wallace every time he touched the ball within 20 feet of the basket. The Tigers fired a plethora of threes after making an effort not to do so their past two games.

"We could have got a wide open three every time down the court," Persia said. "But we turned the ball over and shot rushed threes instead."

The Golden Gophers found their offensive rhythm first, as Princeton struggled to contain Minnesota diaper dandy Kris Humphries, who led all scorers with 12 points at the break and 21 for the game. Meanwhile, the Tigers went seven minutes without scoring, allowing the Golden Gophers to take a 25-19 edge to the locker room.

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Princeton's scoring woes carried over into the second half, as only Andre Logan, who led the Tigers with 16 points, consistently sank shots. It was the second straight strong game for Logan, who has suddenly resembled the aggressive player he was his freshman year, before two injury-riddled seasons.

Minnesota stretched the lead to 39-28 with 12:59 to go, behind nine points from sharpshooting guard Adam Boone. At the under-eight minute TV timeout, Princeton still trailed by 10.

A deep three from Persia jump started the Tigers, and Minnesota's shooters went cold. A spinning runner in the lane by Wallace, who scored 13 in another uneven performance, cut the lead to six.

Freshman center Harrison Schaen kept the run going. After driving to the basket and converting on a three-point play, he blocked a shot and stole the ball on successive defensive possessions. Finally, Venable's steal and bucket knotted the game for the first time since the score was 7-7 early in the first half.

But Princeton could not take the final step and was once again left to wonder what could have been.

"The team is really down. We've had so many games like this," Persia said. "Maybe we don't have a killer instinct yet, but we need to develop it. We can't be playing not to lose."