Men's Basketball: Mavraides, Maddox spark major win

The game was all but over. After a three-point play by forward O.D. Anosike, the men’s basketball team trailed Siena College 66-60 with less than a minute to play.

Junior guard Doug Davis, as he is known to do, hit a three-pointer, but Siena guard Clarence Jackson took care of business, making both his free throws, and the visitors still had the lead.

So the Tigers were down five, with 20 seconds to play, and a loss seemed only a matter of time. Head coach Sydney Johnson ’97 drew up a nifty play to get Davis another open look, but he missed long, and Siena was just seconds away from celebrating.

But senior guard Dan Mavraides fought for the rebound, dribbled back past the three-point line, pump-faked, and then took the shot with 10 seconds left: nothing but net. Then Jackson, who had made all seven of his free throws to that point, missed one of two. Johnson called a timeout with five seconds left and put the ball back in the hands of his senior. Mavraides dribbled along the arc, pulled up with one second left and let fly again: swish. With the score tied 69-69, there were five more minutes of basketball at Jadwin Gymnasium.

The Tigers (3-3) took that momentum into the extra period, pulling away for an 86-77 victory over Siena (2-4), the three-time defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion. Princeton has gone to overtime, eventually winning, in both of its home games this season.

“I was pushed out a little further than I would have liked; it was good defense, but I got lucky,” said Mavraides, whose game-tying shot in regulation was closely contested by forward Owen Wignot.

“I’ve had a couple looks at the end of games, and I don’t think I’ve made one of them, so it was good for one to finally drop.”

“In our last game [a 69-67 loss to Presbyterian College], we had the last shot,” Johnson said. “We got a good look for Dan, and it didn’t go down. For him to come back shows some guts ... That shot was true all the way.”

Sophomore forward Ian Hummer took over in the extra frame, scoring Princeton’s first five points in overtime to give the Tigers a lead they would not relinquish.

With less than two minutes to play, senior forward Kareem Maddox threw down a thunderous dunk, the proverbial exclamation point on an amazing comeback victory.

Maddox, who entered the day averaging less than six points per game, finished with a career-high 30. He became the first Tiger to score that many since Noah Savage ’08 dropped 35 on Brown three seasons ago. What was startling was not just Maddox’s point total, but also his efficiency: He made 10 of 13 attempts from the floor and 10 of 12 free throws. The senior added 10 rebounds and three blocks, both best on the team.

“I’m not sure what was different today, but I knew it was time to turn things around,” Maddox said. “I’ve been kind of disappointed in my play so far, so it was good to help the team in a different way today.”

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“We came in focusing on stopping Davis, Mavraides and Hummer,” Siena head coach Mitch Buonaguro said. “Maddox came in averaging six points per game, so we weren’t expecting that.” Johnson said he thought this was part of the reason his senior was able to get hot: “We try to develop everybody’s individual skills and take what the defense gives us.”

Late in the second half, Maddox found himself in an unusual place: He was on the ground with his legs in the stands, some 15 feet past the sideline and well past the scorer’s table, following a fruitless effort to save a loose rebound. Just seconds later, he was streaking down the court on a fast break, finishing with a dunk over Jackson to give Princeton a 60-58 lead over Siena.

Although the slam fired up the home crowd, it was the visitors who then went on an 8-0 run. Guard Rakeem Brookins answered with a layup, Wignot drained a corner three-pointer, and Anosike converted the three-point play, setting the stage for Princeton’s dramatic comeback.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair. The Tigers frustrated Siena’s star forward early in the game, as Ryan Rossiter committed two traveling violations and was blocked from behind by Maddox in the first five minutes. But even though Princeton’s zone shut down the visitors’ post offense, Siena was able to beat the Tigers off the dribble from the perimeter. An ankle-breaking crossover by Jackson led to an easy layup and a three-point Siena lead midway through the first half.

Mavraides answered for the hosts, draining a deep three-pointer to tie the game at 19. His backcourt teammate, Davis, then took over with a pair of beautiful assists. The first set up Mavraides for a fast-break layup, and the second led to a Maddox dunk.

The Saints, who entered the game shooting a blistering 41 percent on three-pointers, heated up from beyond the arc to reclaim the lead going into halftime. Davis fouled Jackson on a three-point attempt, leading to three good free throws, and a Brookins three bounced high off the rim and through the net. Just moments later, Jackson found Wignot open in the corner for another triple, extending the lead to six points.

Maddox led all scorers at halftime with 10 points, but he was just getting started. With the Tigers trailing by four, the co-captain came out with a vengeance.

He scored the first eight Princeton points, but the Saints answered with a bucket each time. After Mavraides hit two free throws and the Tigers forced a turnover, Maddox showed off a new weapon, hitting a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 41.

The Tigers then heated up from the outside. Sophomore forward Mack Darrow drained a three-pointer from the top of the key to break the tie. Brookins hit a free throw and a floater on consecutive possessions to equalize, but Davis answered with a three of his own, despite a defender’s hand in his face. A Maddox layup extended the lead to five points.

But the Saints responded with their own run. Jackson drove and finished with an uncontested layup to tie the contest at 56, and Rossiter followed with a tip-in for the lead.

The two sides made an identical 40 percent of their field goals in the first half, but the Saints attempted more, due to their superior rebounding. Princeton managed just one offensive rebound in the first period, while the Saints had seven. Rossiter grabbed nine boards before halftime, finishing with a game-high 21.

Siena continued to control the boards — the visitors finished with 18 offensive rebounds to Princeton’s six — but the Tigers countered with hot shooting. Princeton made 17 of 33 field goals in the second half and overtime and shot 25-for-31 from the line, while Siena made just 18 of 29 free throws.

Five Saints reached double figures. Jackson led the way with 16 points but shot just 4-for-20 from the field, missing all eight of his three-point attempts.

Mavraides finished with 19 points on just eight field-goal attempts, while Hummer added 14 and seven rebounds. Rossiter, the preseason MAAC Player of the Year, entered with an average of 21.4 points per game but managed just 14 against Princeton, despite playing 42 minutes.

The Tigers have little time to celebrate, as they play at Lafayette on Tuesday night. They will try to extend their streak of thrilling victories at Jadwin on Sunday against St. Joseph’s, the final home game of the calendar year.