Davis scores 31 as PU men advance in CBI tournament
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Princeton University forward Mack Darrow came into the College Basketball Invitational presented by Zebra Pen with nine blocks this season, the same number as 6-foot guard Douglas Davis.
”Most of my blocks come with both of my feet firmly on the ground,” Darrow quipped. “It’s the only way I can. I can’t jump.”
A rare Darrow block with 1:44 left in the game came just in time to help Princeton preserve its hard-fought late lead and pull away at Evansville, 95-86, Tuesday in the CBI opener in Indiana.
”I think we may have set the game of basketball back a little bit with our defense in the first half,” Darrow said. “It’s a gutsy effort by a good group of guys.”
Princeton closed the game on a 12-1 run after trailing by two points with 4:01 left. The run produced the 27th lead change in a game that was tied 15 times and featured a little of everything, including very little defense until the closing minutes from Princeton.
”We popped into a 2-3 zone for a little bit and that threw them off,” Darrow said. “We were able to do some good things out of it. It’s not something we worked on, so it shows how smart and how focused this group can be. They weren’t getting the mid-range shots that they were getting in the first half and getting all the way to the basket. They weren’t getting the stuff they wanted.
”I think we were all focused and we all got our hands out,” he added of the final minutes. “T.J. Bray came up with a huge steal at the end. It’s huge when you can come up with a steal at that point. I think our length bothered them.”
Nothing previously had bothered Evansville, which shot 59.6 percent from the floor, and got 29 points from Colt Ryan.
”It was incredible,” said PU head coach Mitch Henderson of the win. “We could not stop them. Luckily for us, they had the same problem with us.”
Princeton had more with four players in double figures led by Davis, who had a career-high 31 points to go with three rebounds in a team-high 39 minutes. After an Ian Hummer dunk tied the game, 85-85, Davis scored the Tigers’ final 10 points.
”He was very, very good tonight,” Henderson said. “Colt Ryan was fantastic and Doug was two points better.”
Evansville crept within a point at 87-86, but the Hun School graduate’s pull-up jumper with seven seconds on the shot clock gave the Tigers an 89-86 lead and Evansville came no closer.
”T.J.’s 3 when he got fouled, that was a huge moment,” Henderson said. “And Doug’s shot with the shot clock winding down, then there was a feeling we’re not losing the game. That was a game that could have gone either way. We were fortunate to come out on top.”
Davis shot 9-for-11 from the floor, including 5-for-6 from 3-point range and 8-for-8 from the foul line in becoming the third Princeton player ever to eclipse 1,500 career points. He is 16 points behind Kit Mueller for second place all-time at Princeton.
”He’s one of the best scorers I’ve ever seen,” Henderson said of Davis. “People almost expect that of him, including the other coaches in the league. He’s pivotal to what we do and pivotal to our success tonight.”
Said Darrow: “It was almost the quietest 31 points I’ve seen. It’s the type of person he is. He goes out and is consistent. It’s surprising you look at the box score and see he’s got 31. He didn’t want this to be his last game. He’s been so consistent. We’re really going to miss that next year. It’s a shame he wasn’t ever first-team All-Ivy. He’s so steady, people almost forget about him.”
Hummer had 18 points and eight rebounds, Patrick Saunders had 13 points, and Darrow had 12 points and a team-high six assists along with one big block.Princeton improves to 20-11, its third straight season with at least 20 wins. The Tigers advance to play at Pittsburgh, an 81-63 winner over Wofford, on Monday.
”It means everything,” Darrow said. “It means we’re getting out of Southern Indiana. We’re going to get out of midterms. Any chance you get to play more basketball, that’s a good thing. It was tough to get out of midterms to play basketball, but we’re a competitive group of guys and that’s what you want to be doing now.”
It was apparent early that the Tigers were in for a different sort of game. This one was played at the pace of the Purple Aces, who had eclipsed 86 points four other times this season, and Princeton showed it’s capable of scoring in bunches.
”I think it shows we’re good enough to be able to adjust,” Darrow said. “Most teams have to stick to one identity and if they can’t stick to it, they can’t pull it out. We’re a talented enough group that we can play some different styles.”
The Tigers shot an astounding 60 percent for the game in their biggest offensive output in a regulation game since 1995 when they beat Cornell, 95-69.
”We were really happy with the way the guys are playing on the offensive end,” Henderson said. “With a few exceptions, we’re sharing the ball. When the ball moves and we’re making shots, we can be pretty good. We had a week off after Penn and didn’t skip a beat.”
The Tigers needed almost every one of its points. They knew that Evansville had a potent offense, but could not have expected to give up 86 and win.
”We never expected that,” Darrow said. “We probably knew it was going to be a little higher scoring. They’re well coached. They’re well disciplined.”
So, too, are the Tigers, who advanced to play another postseason game after a wild win Tuesday.
”When I think about this year, no matter what happens from here on out, I’ll think about how we continued to get better,” Henderson said. “That’s a sign of the juniors and seniors on this team.”

