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Princeton tops Harvard on last second basket, wins Ivy League

Mar 13, 2011 - 4:13 AM New Haven, CT (Sports Network) - Harvard was about to celebrate its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1946, but Douglas Davis put a stop to the party with a game-winning shot at the buzzer for a 63-62 Princeton victory.

Brandyn Curry made a layup with 11.1 seconds remaining to give the Crimson a 62-61 edge. The Tigers were left with 2.8 ticks after Davis' layup was blocked by Kyle Casey. Following a timeout, Davis used a nice pump fake before draining the game-winner with no time left on the clock.

"I got a good screen from Will Barnett, took a couple dribbles, shot the ball, and it felt good," Davis said. "Felt real good when it went in."

The eighth playoff game in Ivy League history was set up after Harvard defeated these same Tigers, 79-67, in the regular-season finale a week ago.

Davis had 15 points for the Tigers (25-6), who are going dancing for the 24th time in program history and for the first time since 2004.

Ian Hummer donated 13 points and eight rebounds for Princeton, which has been apart of all eight league playoff games. Kareem Maddox chipped in with 10 points and 13 boards.

Keith Wright finished with 16 points for the Crimson (23-6), who captured their first-ever Ivy League championship with last week's win over the Tigers.

Oliver McNally added 13 points for Harvard, which set school records this season for wins (23) and conference victories (12). Christian Webster and Curry each tallied 12 points.

"The ending was a dagger," Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker said. "Your heart just sinks. I congratulate both teams. They were fortunate and we were not today."

Down by two, 20-18, with 8 1/2 minutes left in the first half, Harvard ripped off seven straight points. Casey's slam with 6:16 remaining gave the Crimson a 25-20 edge.

Laurent Rivard's layup with 25 seconds to go gave Harvard a 32-25 margin at the half.

Trailing by six, 50-44, with about nine minutes to play, the Tigers went on an 11-2 run to go in front. Davis tallied five points during the burst, which Dan Mavraides capped with a layup for a 55-52 lead with 4:20 left.

The game remained tight in the final minutes, and Davis made two free throws with 2:23 to go to give Princeton a 59-58 edge.

The Tigers had a chance to extend their margin after Wright turned the ball over. Davis missed a layup, however, and Casey made a layup to put Harvard ahead with 58.3 seconds remaining.

The back-and-forth battle continued when Hummer made a layup to give the Tigers a 61-60 edge with 37.5 ticks to go. Curry then made a layup for the Crimson to set up the thrilling finish.

Game Notes

The Tigers are 4-4 in the eight playoff tilts...Princeton holds a huge 127-39 advantage in the all-time series with Harvard...The Crimson shot 51.1 percent from the field.