Men's Basketball: Offense shines in Princeton’s home sweep

Sophomore guard T.J. Bray and senior forward Patrick Saunders led the Tigers with 16 and 14 points apiece against the Big Red. Bray had a scorching outing from the field, going 4-6 on three-point shots, and added five assists, four rebounds and three steals along the way. Saunders demonstrated his ability to shoot from outside but also scored with a couple of nice hook shots in and around the paint.

Princeton raced off into the lead after breaking open a tight game early in the first period. Down 10-12, the Tigers combined sharp offense and intense defense to embark on a 28-10 run, capped by possibly the greatest Princeton dunk in recent memory by junior forward Ian Hummer.

Moving the ball quickly, Saunders delivered the ball to Hummer on the three-point line. What followed will make Cornell guard Johnathan Gray think twice about his basketball team’s next visit to Jadwin Gymnasium.

With empty floor beckoning, Hummer drove into the paint before leaping magnificently into the air and ramming the basketball through the hoop with his left hand. Gray jumped up to block in vain as Hummer powered over his defender to slam home and earn a trip to the charity stripe. His three-point play gave Princeton a 16-point lead and sent the crowd into a frenzy.

“That was a big dunk,” head coach Mitch Henderson ’98 said. “I don’t know — it seemed like he jumped, and then he jumped again.”

After taking a 44-32 lead into the break, the Tigers cooled down somewhat but still outscored the Big Red by six during the second period. Four Princeton starters scored in double digits, with senior guard Doug Davis and Hummer joining Saunders and Bray in taking the plaudits.

“I thought we just brought a lot of energy tonight,” Bray said. “Right from the tip, we were up, and we just kept it going all night. We tried not to hit a wall — kind of toward the end of the first half we did, but we knew if we came out in the second half and really put our foot to the pedal, we would be fine.”

Although the Big Red shot the ball decently in the first half, Cornell conceded far too many preventable turnovers. On several occasions, a guard would drive toward the basket and get called for traveling. The Big Red defense didn’t show up, and the players lacked the same desire to get the ball.

The match was unusually fast-paced as the crowd witnessed end-to-end action. Princeton took only eight free throws, while Cornell attempted 11. While the referees were quick to call players for minor violations such as traveling, they didn’t have to deal with much excessively physical play. The teams committed 12 fouls apiece, while there were at least 35 committed overall in each of the Tigers’ last three home games.

Apart from the strong overall team performance, Henderson was extremely pleased with Bray’s showing on the night. In addition to a career-high 16 points, Bray’s passing ability, his disciplined ball control and connection with freshman forward Denton Koon were delightful to watch.

“He’s been very consistent,” Henderson said, “and I think this is indicative of kind of the way we see him playing for us in the future.”

“For a guy that played a few minutes last year,” Hummer said of Bray, “to kind of step up to the starting role as point guard running the team and playing 30-32 minutes a game — it’s tough for anyone. And I think over the course of the season, he’s really stepped up.”

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The opening minutes on Friday against Columbia contrasted with what Princeton showed throughout the game against the Big Red. Lions forward Blaise Staub drove to the basket for a layup on the very first possession of the game, which foretold Princeton’s lack of defensive intensity for much of the first half. Despite five lead changes in the opening frame, Columbia built a 27-22 lead with under two minutes left in the first after a layup by guard Meiko Lyles.

However, Davis sunk two free throws to bring the game within one possession. With six seconds left in the period, junior forward Mack Darrow sunk a basket from NBA range, tying the game up at 27-27 going into the half.

The Lions took a three-point lead about five minutes into the second half, but the Tigers tied it up at 39-39. Once again, Darrow found himself with another open three-point look and hit nothing but net, sparking a 12-3 Princeton run over the next four minutes. The Tigers shot 61 percent from the floor and 91 percent from the free-throw line in the second half. Darrow shined, shooting 4-6 from the field and a perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe on the way to his 19 points and eight rebounds.

“It’s no surprise to me, because he’s been [making big shots] for a while,” said senior guard Doug Davis, who finished with a team-high 20 points and passed assistant coach Brian Earl ’99 for fifth place on Princeton’s all-time scoring list. “That’s what he does, make big shots.”

“Mack is our most efficient player, by far,” Henderson said. “If you look at the numbers, and I’m a big numbers guy — he’s extremely efficient, and he makes everybody better.”

Princeton continues to play catch-up to Harvard, which tallied its 27th consecutive home win after beating Yale later that evening in Cambridge, Mass. Penn stays closest to the Crimson in second place after a successful weekend. Following the away trip to Harvard and Dartmouth next week, the Tigers come back to Jadwin Gymnasium for their last three games of the season.