Tigers gear up for busy weekend

Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Reid Sakel (with ball) and the DePauw University men's basketball team have a busy week ahead, with three games. The Tigers face Rose-Hulman at home today.

Sports Writer

DePauw University will host a trio of adversaries this week as it tries to improve its record and attempts to grab sole possession of first place in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The Tigers are coming off a weekend sweep of Hendrix and Austin. DePauw will be playing three games in four days and one must wonder if fatigue will be a factor.

"We train all season for stretches such as this one," junior Stephen Schott said.

Austin Brown is DePauw's leading scorer with 16 points a game and Reid Sakel is chipping in 11 points.

Schott is a workhorse for the Tigers. He combines size and strength to get 14 points a game and pull down nine rebounds.

First up for the Tigers is the Rose-Hulman Engineers tonight at 7:30 p.m.

The Engineers are led by Brian Bibb with 14 points and 10 rebounds a game. Jason Bednarko is providing 10 points a game while David Yaraschefski is throwing down seven. Phil Sundling is a solid threat, averaging five points, five rebounds and three assists a game.

Rose-Hulman is averaging 59 points per contest on 37 percent shooting. With big men like Bibb and Yaraschefski lurking inside, the Engineers are pulling down 32 boards a game.

Rose-Hulman is sporting a record of 6-10 on the season and has gone 2-6 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Next the Tigers will face - the Tigers. The Tigers of Trinity University that is.

Six-foot-two guard Charles Houston is leading the Tigers with 11 points and six boards a game. He has also grabbed 33 steals on the season. Brandon York is averaging 10 points for Trinity.

Casey Hill is averaging six points a game and five rebounds. He also has dominated the inside for the Tigers, swatting a team-high 10 blocks.

With 36 percent shooting, Trinity is putting in 62 points, while grabbing 34 boards a game.

The final test for the Tigers will come against the Southwestern Pirates.

The Pirates are averaging 63 points a game, on the strength of a one-two punch from guards Mike Powell and Matt Caplan

Caplan is averaging 14 points, six rebounds and four assist per game. Powell is contributing 11 points and has collected 17 steals on the season. As a team, Southwestern has tallied 103 steal so far this year.

Casey Gorder, a 6-foot-8 center, is pulling down six boards a game and is tallying nine points. Ben Sanders is an inside presence for the Pirates as he is gathering six rebounds and has eight blocks on the season.

DePauw has a balanced attack, but improvement is still on the team's mind.

"The one thing we are focusing on is our defense." Schott commented. "This week, we are really focused on getting three wins at home."

All three games for the Tigers will be broadcast live on WGRE 91.5.

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