PISCATAWAY – The call was questionable, the end-game as dramatic as it was ironic. What a shame a game this good came down to a call this bad.
First, Quincy Douby – Coming off the bench – drew a questionable foul on Seton Hall’s Don Copeland at the buzzer in overtime. Then, with no time left on the clock, he missed the first of two free throws. Then he stood on the line, feeling like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders – and just one shot at redemption.
Douby hit that shot, pumping his fist in exaltation as Rutgers escaped with a 62-61 win. And with the Scarlet Knights having lost five straight to their rival and five straight overall, the Pirates (10-10, 2-7 Big East) trudged out of the RAC thinking both of those streaks should’ve reached six.
Douby was wrapped in a bear hug by coach Gary Waters, the man who had benched him to start the night. The game’s MVP, the sophomore guard had 14 of his 19 points in the second half, when he kept Rutgers (8-12, 2-8) afloat against a slow, inexorable Pirate rally that was short-circuited by one whistle.
“I want them to leave feeling good about themselves. For the last month, they haven’t,” said Waters, who had his eyes closed during Douby’s first miss. “I consider this divine justice. We’ve . . . lost some close games down the stretch.”
After RU’s Juel Wiggan (11 points) missed a foul shot with :06.5 left in regulation, Douby gave the Knights a four-point cushion in OT. He took an inbound pass with :04 left, and when Copeland wouldn’t bite on a pump-fake, he missed a rushed jumper. But referee Les Jones called a foul that even surprised Douby.
“He kinda jumped out of my way and I leaned into him . . . and the ref gave me the call,” Douby said, mimicking the motion and nearly knocking a reporter’s recorder out of his hand.
With Copeland pleading his case and Kelly Whitney flinging his headband at the scorer’s table in abject disgust, Douby hit the game-winner. When asked how he would’ve felt if he’d been whistled for that foul, he said, “I wouldn’t be talking to you. I’d be too upset.”
Copeland, who’d hammered Douby with 2:57 in regulation, did talk and took the high road.
“I don’t think I fouled him but the ref saw something,” Copeland said. “I’m trying not to foul; that’s in my mind. But the ref just made the call. It’s frustrating.”
After crew chief Tim Higgins said league referees don’t comment on judgment calls, Hall coach Louis Orr had no such qualms.
“We did everything right: Played great D, stayed on the ground. Douby didn’t have anywhere to go and missed the shot,” said Orr, whose team trailed 20-8 in the first half before rallying behind John Allen (20 points).
Said Orr, “I thought the game was going to double overtime.”
Penn 70, Princeton 62 (OT)
At Philadelphia, Tim Begley scored 20 points and Penn (12-7, 5-0 Ivy) pulled off an amazing rally from an 18-point deficit with 7:35 left in regulation and defeated Princeton (10-9, 1-4) in overtime.
Eric Osmundson had 13 points for Penn, which won its eighth straight and remained the only unbeaten team in the Ivy League.
Judson Wallace, who fouled out with 1:03 left in regulation, had 21 points and Will Venable 12 for the Tigers. -AP
