Faced with a six-point deficit with seven minutes, 47 seconds left in the game, Mavraides was a man on a mission, forcing two clutch steals and hitting two clutch three-pointers down the stretch. Maddox was right there with his classmate, putting up 20 points and pulling down eight rebounds for the game. Coupled with an 84-66 win over Cornell (8-18 overall, 4-8 Ivy League) on Friday and Harvard’s loss to Yale on Saturday, Princeton (22-5, 10-1) rose to first place in the Ivy League.
The Tigers’ victory over the Lions (14-12, 5-7), capped off a perfect 12-0 season at home.
“There was a moment where I looked at the shot clock, and we were down six,” Mavraides said. “The game had been miserable for me personally. But I just thought, ‘Why am I nervous? Why am I scared? We’ve been in this position a lot. I’ve played in this gym all the time. I’ve made a million shots in this gym.’ “Me and Kareem looked at each other across the foul line one time, and we were like, ‘Let’s do this.’”
After missing his first seven field goal attempts, Mavraides came through in the clutch. Along with two steals and another forced turnover, his 14 points all came in the closing minutes and accounted for all but four of the team’s final 20 points. Maddox grabbed a rebound in the waning minutes off his own missed free throw, drawing a foul and making both foul shots.
Mavraides then made two three-pointers, including one that dropped through the net after Mavraides himself was knocked down in the process of shooting.
“We knew that we could battle through it and figure it out down the stretch,” Maddox said. “We’re not going to get every call, the ball’s not going to bounce our way every time, we’re not going to get every rebound or hit every shot. It’s just kind of a maturity and a calmness that we’re happy to see from everyone.”
Columbia jumped out to an early lead on Saturday, going on a 9-2 run to open the game. Defense characterized the early minutes, as the Lions were able to force three turn during six and a half minutes in which Princeton did not make a field goal. The Tigers fought back, taking advantage of trips to the charity stripe, and two free throws by sophomore forward Ian Hummer tied the game at 15-15.
The teams remained defensive until the break, when the Tigers were down at 24-23, their lowest first-half point total of the season.
“Everybody’s going to give us their best shot,” head coach Sydney Johnson ’97 said. “We typically get a lot of people’s best and that’s fine, but we need to prepare in the right way for that. That’s our challenge.”
Cornell provided that challenge on Friday, hoping to push the Tigers as it did in Ithaca, N.Y., two weeks ago. Princeton shot a blazing 59.3 percent from the field in the first period, including 5-9 from three-point distance, and went on an 18-2 run midway through the half. However, the Big Red’s full-court pressure caused all sorts of trouble for the Tigers, and Cornell capitalized on 16 points off 10 Princeton turnovers to pull to 41-37 at halftime.
“I think people try to slow us down,” Johnson said. “As amazing as that sounds, that’s how I feel, that people are trying to break our rhythm. If we can do it in a wise fashion, we want to break the press and go. We’re very comfortable scoring points.”
Indeed, Princeton continued to shoot at a fiery clip. The Big Red stuck around for the opening minutes of the second frame, but the Tigers closed out the game with a 15-5 run starting with 9:12 left to go. Princeton finished the game with a field-goal percentage of 62.3, its highest percentage since 2005, and made 10 of 18 shots from beyond the arc.
The Tigers take their slim half-game lead on the road for their final three games, traveling to Dartmouth on Friday, Harvard on Saturday and Penn a week from Tuesday to close out the regular season. With a sweep of next weekend’s two games, Princeton could earn the Ivy League’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
“We’re at a point where we want to be, which is we’re playing the game,” Johnson said. “Not worrying about the crowd, not worried about calls, forget all that. We’re playing the game.”
Read More
With Pierce to sit out the year, men’s basketball loses last senior standing
Harrison BlankSenior forward Caden Pierce announced today that he will be sitting out his senior season of basketball at Princeton in the interests of maintaining his final year of eligibility.
Senior forward Caden Pierce announced today that he will be sitting out his senior season of basketball at Princeton in the interests of maintaining his final year of eligibility.
Women’s ice hockey names Courtney Kessel as new head coach
Lily PampolinaFollowing the resignation of Cara Gardner Morey, Princeton appointed Courtney Kessel as head coach.
Following the resignation of Cara Gardner Morey, Princeton appointed Courtney Kessel as head coach.
Former women’s basketball forward Parker Hill ’25 signs professional contract in Switzerland
Doug SchwartzAfter a successful senior season, women's basketball forward Parker Hill signed a contact to play professional basketball in Europe, following in the steps of her past teammates.
After a successful senior season, women's basketball forward Parker Hill signed a contact to play professional basketball in Europe, following in the steps of her past teammates.