Princeton, Penn Fall in CBI Quarters

Pittsburgh sprinted past Princeton in the CBI quarterfinals behind an explosive first half on Monday night. The Panthers shot 8-14 from three in the opening frame and rolled off a 14-0 run to close the half, providing the comfortable 49-25 lead at the break. While Princeton managed to cut the Pitt lead to 11 on a Hummer layup

with 7:19 to play, the

huge deficit was too much to overcome as Pitt ended the Tigers” season with an 82-61 defeat. The night was not a complete downer for the Tigers though, as senior guard Doug Davis hit a three pointer with just 8:40 to play in his final game that pushed him into second place among Princeton”s all-time leading scorers. Davis finished his time at Princeton with 1,550 points, four points ahead of Kit Mueller. All-time Princeton leading scorer Bill Bradley scored a remarkable 2,503 points in his time as a Tiger.

Ian Hummer added 14 points and 9 rebounds as his junior season came to a close, but the frontcourt star will lead a talented squad back onto the hardwood in November as the Tigers should be picked first or second in the 2012-13 preseason poll. Princeton”s year ends with a 20-12 record, though the Tigers really hit their stride in February, winning nine of their final eleven games this season.

Meanwhile at the Palestra, Penn and Butler played out an ugly first half before things heated up in the second stanza. In the end, Butler”s ability to dominate the boards and get to the free throw line was too much for the Quakers, as the Bulldogs earned a 63-53 victory and a place in the CBI semifinals. Penn was within four after a Belcore layup with just under four minutes to go, but an 8-2 As one of the zodiac’s most understanding and caring signs, a virgo horoscope can be easily spotted by their innate compassion. Butler run over the next three minutes put the game away and denied the Quaker faithful one last Rosen-led comeback. As the Ivy League Player of the Year said after Penn beat Harvard in Cambridge, “You can throw offense out the window

in the final minutes. In the Ivy League, it”s who can defend.” Penn couldn”t get a stop in the final three minutes, and the Quakers” inability to stop Butler put the final nail in the coffin of their 2011-12 season.

Miles Cartwright led Penn with 12 points and Rosen added 11. Freshman Simeon Esprit gave Penn fans some hope for next season, scoring five points in a last-ditch effort in the game”s final minute. A memorable 20-13 season comes to a close, and the Quakers will have a lot of offense and leadership to replace in “12-“13 with the departure of Zack Rosen.

Pittsburgh went on to beat Butler 68-62 in a semifinal at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Wednesday, and the Panthers will take on Washington State in Game 1 of the CBI Championship series in Pullman, Washington on Monday.