Denton Koon scores two for Princeton/ Photo by JOHN BLAINE

By NICK PERUFFO

nperuffo@trentonian.com

 

PRINCETON — With 7.6 seconds on the clock and the ball at the bottom of a scrum underneath the Harvard basket — Tigers up by a single fragile point — Ian Hummer suddenly charged toward the student section, fists pumping.

It took the packed house at Jadwin Gym a second to realize what had just happened — the ball was out of bounds on Harvard, and free throws willing, Princeton had just won its biggest game of the season.

“I knew it was going to go our way, the way we’ve been shooting our free throws,” Hummer said after the game. “Whoever was on the line was going to make them. The excitement got the best of me, nobody had any idea what I was doing.”

The Tigers were able to hold on, beating the Crimson 58-53 for the 24th straight time at Jadwin Gym Friday night. With the victory, Princeton pulls even with Harvard in the all-important Ivy League loss column. If the two teams each win out, it would set up a one-game playoff to determine the league champion and the recipient of its NCAA bid.

“We control our own destiny,” coach Mitch Henderson said.

On the crucial play of the game, Princeton up 54-53, Harvard guard Siyani Chambers attacked the basket, beating Denton Koon off the dribble. Instead of continuing to the rim, however, Chambers tried to dish the ball to Steve Moundou-Missi, who had been extremely effective down low, finishing with 15 points. Chambers’ pass simply didn’t connect, and Moundou-Missi and Princeton’s Will Barrett hit the deck to try and corral it.

“It was a huge sequence for us,” Henderson said. “At times this season when we’ve been down, we haven’t been able to find that moment where we push through something. Tonight was just a huge game for our program.”

Mack Darrow missed the ensuing foul shot, but Hummer was able to tip the ball out to the perimeter, where T.J. Bray had to dive to keep it from going out of bounds. Koon was there in the backcourt to pick it up, and then knocked down his pair of foul shots.

“We practice that play all the time,” Henderson joked.

Princeton played absolutely suffocating defense in the first half, holding the Crimson to just 28 percent shooting before intermission. After rushing out to a quick 8-2 lead on a three-point play from Bray, the Tigers spent most of the first half up by a comfortable six-to-10 point margin.

“All week in practice we focused on closing out hard on guys.” Bray said. “We fouled (Harvard guard Laurent) Rivard twice on 3s, but we did a good job not allowing any open looks.”

In the second half, however, Crimson began to creep closer. After a three by Darrow at the 10-minute mark, the Tigers went cold, failing to score again until a pair of Hummer free throws with 3:42 left. Two possessions later, Moundou-Missi had put the Crimson up for the first time all game at 51-50.

Ian Hummer had 23 points and 14 rebounds for Princeton/ Photo by JOHN BLAINE

Hummer, however, was then able to get a couple of huge baskets — one a memorable put-back off a Bray miss — setting up the Tigers’ late-game heroics.

Hummer led all scorers with 23 points and 14 rebounds, moving into second place all time on the school’s scoring list, while Bray finished with 14 points and six boards. In addition to Moundou-Missi, the Crimson got 11 points from Wesley Saunders and 10 from Chambers.

Though the win improves the Tigers’ odds immensely, they still have four more regular-season games on the schedule. They’ll play Dartmouth at 6 p.m. Saturday night in Jadwin.

“There is a lot left to play,” Henderson said.