Princeton’s Run Is Over

INDIANAPOLIS — Princeton Coach Pete Carril’s magical run through the Southeast Regional proved to be a short one.

Erick Dampier scored 20 points as Mississippi State beat sentimental favorite Princeton, 63-41, Saturday. The loss sent Carril into retirement after 30 years as a college coach and ended Princeton’s surprising run in the Southeast Regional, which began Thursday with an upset over defending national champion UCLA.

“I think the whole team is really disappointed in how we played,” said Sydney Johnson, who scored Princeton’s first basket, but finished with only four points. “I’m somewhat ashamed of our performance and this being the last game for coach Carril, it’s really hard.

“I think this loss is going to stay in a lot of guys’ minds over this summer,” he added. “We’ll remember this as much as UCLA or the Penn victory.”

Like he has for the past three decades, the rumpled Carril suffered on the sidelines, sometimes pleading, often yelling, always grimacing. But it wasn’t enough as Dampier and the Bulldogs controlled the game from the start.