Men's Basketball: Tigers top IUPUI in two overtimes

The men’s basketball team traveled to “The Jungle” on Monday night in a game that saw Tigers, Jaguars and, most importantly for the few Princeton faithful in attendance, a win for the Orange and Black.

Princeton (22-8 overall, 11-3 Ivy League) defeated Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (25-11) 74-68 in double overtime in the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational. The loss was the Jaguars’ first in 11 home games this season.

The Tigers turned up the pressure on defense in the second overtime, forcing three turnovers and outscoring IUPUI 6-0 in the final period to come away with the win. Princeton’s clutch performance ended a back-and-forth contest between two teams that had never met before.

The teams split the first half of the game, with IUPUI dominating the first 10 minutes. The Jaguars dug Princeton into a 25-13 hole until the Tigers responded with a run of their own. Senior center Pawel Buczak led the charge with 10 points, and junior guard Dan Mavraides made a layup with two seconds remaining in the half, tying the game at 33-33.

Barely into the second half, Princeton led by three points — its biggest lead until the second overtime. IUPUI easily regained the advantage, leading by 10 with 13 minutes on the clock. Freshman forward Ian Hummer stepped up for the Tigers, dunking the ball to spark his team’s comeback. Princeton called a timeout to regain composure, and once again the Orange and Black rallied to tie the game. Hummer landed a layup with 16 seconds left, evening it out at 63-63. Mavraides’s attempted buzzer-beater missed the mark, ending regulation and sending the action into overtime.

The first overtime ended anticlimactically, with both teams scoring just five points in the five-minute session.

This marked the Jaguars’ first loss at home this season. The Summit League runner-up was led by its usual stars, forwards Robert Glenn and Alex Young. Glenn rained 18 points, dominated the board with 16 rebounds and swatted away five shots. Young contributed 17 points on 5-13 shooting.

Four Princeton players reached double digits. After his 49-game scoring streak was snapped against Duquesne last week, Mavraides led the Tigers with 18 points and five rebounds. He barely left the court, playing 49 of the 50 minutes, and only picked up two personal fouls.

Hummer had one of his biggest performances of the year, contributing 16 points and six rebounds, as well as snatching three steals. Buczak added 12 points, and senior Marcus Schroeder netted 10.

IUPUI committed twice as many turnovers as Princeton but compensated under the basket. The Jaguers out-rebounded the Tigers, 48-33. Princeton also struggled at the line, converting only 10 of its 21 free throw attempts, while IUPUI went 17 for 22. The Tigers distinguished themselves from the floor, and Princeton consistently outshot the Jaguars. The Tigers ended the game having made 48.3 percent of their field goal attempts, and they held IUPUI to a low 37.1 percent.

This win sends Princeton to the CBI semifinals. The Tigers will travel to St. Louis University to face the Billikens on Wednesday. The semifinal winners will face off in a best-of-three championship series next week.