Princeton Upends Ucla
Southeast Region
It seemed as if Pete Carril had spent his whole career setting up this last, great play.
Thirty years of picks and screens and sideline grimaces led Thursday night to the most dramatic backdoor layup Princeton has seen - and perhaps the most shocking moment for UCLA.
Princeton and its retiring coach rocked the defending NCAA champ 43-41, getting the winning basket when Gabe Lewullis made the layup with 3.9 seconds left.
“We just knocked off a giant,” Carril said.
Lewullis faked Charles O’Bannon, took a pass from Steve Goodrich near the foul line and went backdoor, Princeton’s trademark play during Carril’s 29 seasons at the Ivy League school.
“The one time I went backdoor, O’Bannon went with me,” Lewullis said. “So I went back up to the top, came back down again and he got it to me on the bounce. All I had to do was put it in.”
O’Bannon made no excuses for missing Lewullis the second time.
“It was my fault, unfortunately,” O’Bannon said. “It’s over and done with. I’m looking forward to next year.”
UCLA, 11 times the national champion, called timeout, and officials reset the clock from 1.3 seconds to 2.2. Carril, his face filled with his usual anguish, argued in vain against the decision.
The Bruins had one final try, but Toby Bailey’s jumper was an airball at the buzzer.
Princeton scored the game’s final nine points. The Tigers trailed 41-34 before Sydney Johnson sandwiched a 3 and a layup around Goodrich’s layup. That tied the game at 41 with 2:58 left.
Princeton 43, UCLA 41
Princeton (22-6) - Doyal 1-4 0-0 3, Lewullis 4-9 1-2 10, Goodrich 4-9 0-3 8, S.Johnson 4-9 0-0 11, M.Henderson 3-11 0-0 8, Earl 1-4 0-0 3, Mastaglio 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-46 1-5 43.
UCLA (23-8) - O’Bannon 3-10 2-3 8, J.Henderson 1-2 0-0 2, McCoy 1-3 0-0 2, Dollar 0-1 0-2 0, Bailey 4-13 2-2 13, Loyd 2-4 0-0 6, Myers 0-0 0-0 0, Dempsey 0-1 0-0 0, K.Johnson 4-5 2-2 10. Totals 15-39 6-9 41.
Halftime-UCLA 19, Princeton 18. 3-Point goals- Princeton 8-27 (S.Johnson 3-7, M.Henderson 2-6, Doyal 1-4, Earl 1-4, Lewullis 1-5, Goodrich 0-1), UCLA 5-18 (Bailey 3-9, Loyd 2-4, Dempsey 0-1, O’Bannon 0-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Princeton 21 (Goddrich 6), UCLA 31 (O’Bannon 8). Assists-Princeton 15 (Doyal 4), UCLA 6 (O’Bannon, Dollar 3). Total fouls-Princeton 13, UCLA 10. A-31,569.
Mississippi State 58, Virginia Commonwealth 51
Darryl Wilson scored 15 points as Mississippi State survived a miserable shooting slump. Wilson, the Bulldogs’ scoring leader for the season, had only three points until the closing minutes, when he scored 12 of his team’s final 16 points.
Virginia Commonwealth (24-9) - Chappell 4-13 2-3 10, Hopkins 9-20 4-6 22, Byrd 1-5 3-6 5, Hamilton 1-5 0-0 2, Lee 1-7 0-0 3, Smith 0-3 0-0 0, Peabody 1-2 0-2 2, Reed 1-2 0-0 2, Talley 0-4 0-0 0, Marston 2-3 0-0 5. Totals 20-64 7-14 51.
Mississippi State (23-7) - Walters 1-4 0-0 2, Jones 5-12 2-2 13, Dampier 6-9 1-2 13, Wilson 5-14 3-4 15, Bullard 0-5 0-0 0, Hughes 0-1 2-2 2, Hyche 3-6 0-0 8, Washington 2-3 1-3 5. Totals 22-54 9-13 58.
Halftime-Mississippi St 24, VCU 20. 3-Point goals-VCU 4-17 (Chappell 2-5, Marston 1-1, Lee 1-5, Reed 0-1, Talley 0-1, Hamilton 0-4), Mississippi State 5-16 (Wilson 2-4, Hyche 2-4, Jones 1-3, Bullard 0-5 ). Fouled out-None. Rebounds- VCU 36 (Hopkins 11), Mississippi State 46 (Jones 10). Assists-VCU 10 (Hamilton 4), Mississippi State 12 (Bullard 6). Total fouls-VCU 12, Mississippi State 16. A-NA.
Connecticut 68, Colgate 59
Led by All-American Ray Allen, who scored 12 of his 24 points during a 15-0 first-half run, the top-seeded Huskies routed the Red Raiders.
UConn point guard Ricky Moore, who separated his right shoulder earlier in the season, reinjured it after he landed on it with 4:50 left in the first half. He was taken to the locker room after lying on the floor in pain.
Colgate’s Adonal Foyle had 21 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks.
Colgate (15-15) - Roberts 3-10 0-0 7, Bollin 1-10 0-0 2, Foyle 8-20 5-7 21, Maloney 1-3 0-0 2, Schaeffer 6-13 0-0 18, Hyra 0-1 0-0 0, Tuohey 2-3 0-0 6, Cupid 0-0 0-0 0, Lynch 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 22-63 6-9 59.
UConn (31-2) - King 2-4 0-0 4, Johnson 3-5 0-0 6, Knight 2-6 1-2 5, Sheffer 8-18 1-1 19, Allen 9-20 2-4 24, Jones 2-5 1-2 5, Moore 1-4 0-0 2, Carson 0-1 0-0 0, Hayward 1-1 1-4 3. Totals 28-64 6-13 68.
Halftime-Connecticut 43, Colgate 26. 3-Point goals- Colgate 9-21 (Schaeffer 6-12, Tuohey 2-3, Roberts 1-5, Maloney 0-1), Connecticut 6-15 (Allen 4-9, Sheffer 2-5, Jones 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Colgate 36 (Foyle 14), Connecticut 41 (Johnson, Sheffer 8). Assists-Colgate 9 (Maloney 3), Connecticut 16 (Sheffer 6). Total fouls-Colgate 13, Connecticut 12. A-NA.
E. Michigan 75, Duke 60
Earl Boykins scored 23 points and Brian Tolbert added 20 as the Eagles beat the Blue Devils.
“In the first half, we were looking at the ‘Duke’ on their shirts,” Tolbert said, noting the 26-26 halftime deadlock. “After we settled down and played the guys in the shirts, it was a different game.”
E. Michigan (25-5) - Dial 6-11 0-1 12, Zajac 3-6 0-0 6, Wilson 2-5 0-0 4, Tolbert 8-18 2-2 20, Boykins 8-15 7-9 23, Head 1-3 0-0 2, Beeten 0-0 0-0 0, Berkovitch 0-0 0-0 0, Mills 4-6 0-0 8, Pennisi 0-2 0-0 0, Eibeler 0-0 0-0 0, Reynolds 0-0 0-0 0, Ezugwu 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-67 9-12 75.
Duke (18-13) - Price 6-16 2-2 14, Domzalski 1-6 1-2 3, Newton 6-9 3-4 15, Capel 6-15 1-2 15, Collins 4-10 1-2 11, Wojciechowski 0-0 0-0 0, Hall 0-0 0-0 0, Singleton 0-0 0-0 0, Heaps 0-1 0-0 0, Brunson 1-3 0-0 2, Christensen 0-0 0-0 0, Perry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-60 8-12 60.
Halftime-Duke 26, E. Michigan 26. 3-Point goals-E. Michigan 2-13 (Tolbert 2-8, Pennisi 0-1, Dial 0-2, Boykins 0-2), Duke 4-14 (Collins 2-3, Capel 2-7, Price 0-4). Fouled out-Domzalski. Rebounds-E. Michigan 38 (Tolbert 7), Duke 32 (Newton 10). Assists-E. Michigan 11 (Boykins 5), Duke 10 (Capel, Collins 3). Total fouls-E. Michigan 16, Duke 17. A-31,373.