The DePauw University men's basketball team fell to 5-9 Friday night in a 90-88 double-overtime loss to conference rival Centre College (9-4)

Monday, January 16, 2006

The DePauw University men's basketball team fell to 5-9 Friday night in a 90-88 double-overtime loss to conference rival Centre College (9-4). The loss ends a 3-0 home record for the Tigers and marks the fifth straight defeat suffered at the hands of the Colonels, bringing the all-time series record to 24-9 in favor of DePauw.

Both teams had trouble finding rhythm in the opening minutes of the contest. Centre burned an early timeout, trailing 4-0 with 16 minutes left in the first half. DePauw led by six with just under seven minutes left in the half but found itself carrying a 42-35 deficit into the locker room at the midway point.

Though the first half started slowly for both teams, it was in the words of Centre head coach Greg Mason, "A remarkable offensive game. We had three turnovers between our teams going into half. That's just unheard of."

Maybe more remarkable was the turnover mark after two halves and two extra periods. DePauw turned the ball over six times and Centre five times in 50 minutes of basketball.

However, what plagued the Tigers weren't turnovers but offensive rebounds and second-chance points. While the board-for-board mark was tight, with the Colonels edging DePauw 38-32 by the end of the game, it was the offensive rebounds made the difference.

"We just didnāt come up with the ball when we needed to," explained DePauw head coach Bill Fenlon. "We didnāt block out and Coy (Zerhusen) was all over the boards."

Still, in the second half there was still life in the Tigers. At one point early after the break Centre had a 12-point lead. DePauw regained the lead briefly with three minutes left in regulation off of a three-point shot from junior guard Reid Sakel.

With 16 seconds left in the game and DePauw trailing by four, senior guard Alex Stewart drained a three on the run to bring the Tigers within one point. After two more free throw conversions by the Colonels, Stewart again heard his number called and again answered with another running three to tie the game at 70.

This scenario repeated again as the first overtime brought out the intensity in both squads. In the closing seconds, however, it was Stewart again with a three-pointer with time running out that tied the game at 82 and sent both teams into yet another extra period.

"It's not plays or coaches that make the difference down the stretch," offered Mason, "It's players and Alex (Stewart) put on an exhibition tonight."

In the final seconds of the second overtime, DePauw could not bring the magic again.

"We had a real concentration problem," said Fenlon, "We didn't finish plays and didn't execute consistently all night."

Still, the Tigers had five players in double digits with Sakel leading all scorers with 23 points. Stephen Schott led DePauw in rebounds with seven. Austin Brown led in assists and steals with five and three respectively.

For the Colonels, Matt Nestheide led with 22 points while Zerhusen took rebounding honors with 14.

CENTRE COLLEGE 90, DEPAUW UNIVERSITY 88

CENTRE COLLEGE (9-4, 2-2 SCAC)

Matt Nestheide 6-10 7-8 22; Coy Zerhusen 6-9 4-6 16; Thomas Britt 4-14 4-4

16; Matt Jacobson 6-11 0-0 15; Reggie Magnusson 4-11 3-4 11; T.C. Thomason

1-2 2-2 4; Adam Patterson 1-1 0-0 2; Ryan Crowdis 1-1 0-0 2; John Patterson

1-5 0-0 2; Kyle Christopher 0-0 0-0 0; Rob Matthews 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-64

20-24 90.

DEPAUW UNIVERSITY (5-9, 1-3 SCAC)

Reid Sakel 8-11 2-2 23; Alex Stewart 6-10 0-0 16; Stephen Schott 5-18 5-8

15; Matt McDonald 4-9 3-4 11; Todd Capes 4-5 1-2 11; Austin Brown 3-7 0-0 6;

Ryan Werntz 1-2 0-0 3; Brian Oilar 1-4 0-0 3; Adam Dunn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals

32-66 11-16 88.

Centre College -- 42 28 12 8 - 90

DePauw University -- 35 35 12 6 - 88

3-point goals-Centre College 10-20 (Thomas Britt 4-7; Matt Jacobson 3-7;

Matt Nestheide 3-4; T.C. Thomason 0-1; Reggie Magnusson 0-1), DePauw

University 13-22 (Reid Sakel 5-7; Alex Stewart 4-6; Todd Capes 2-2; Brian

Oilar 1-3; Ryan Werntz 1-2; Stephen Schott 0-2). Fouled out--Centre

College-Reggie Magnusson, DePauw University-Todd Capes; Austin Brown.

Rebounds-Centre College 38 (Coy Zerhusen 14), DePauw University 32 (Stephen

Schott 7). Assists-Centre College 14 (Matt Nestheide 4), DePauw University

15 (Reid Sakel 5; Austin Brown 5). Total fouls-Centre College 13, DePauw

University 18. A-300

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