Tiger men edge Panthers, 68-67

Monday, February 11, 2008

Ryan Werntz hit two free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining and the Tigers needed both of them as Birmingham-Southern's Aaron Parr hit a buzzer beater three from half court in DePauw's 68-67 win at the Neal Fieldhouse. DePauw improved to 18-4, while the Panthers dropped to 12-10.

DePauw held a 66-59 lead after Stephen Schott hit a pair of free throws with 1:49 remaining, but Birmingham-Southern's Wil Gilmore nailed a three-pointer following a DePauw timeout to close the margin to 66-62.

Gilmore closed the DePauw lead to 66-64 with 51 seconds left after the Tigers couldn't control the defensive rebound after a Panthers' miss. Roger Williams blocked a Steve Lemasters shot on DePauw's next possession, but Williams missed a potential tying layup with 12 seconds remaining.

Werntz then sealed the game with his two free throws and Parr made it a one-point finish with his heave from just inside the midcourt line.

The teams battled through a tight first half that included seven ties and eight lead changes with DePauw gaining the lead for good at 34-31 on four straight free throws by Schott in the final 1:16 of the first half.

DePauw stretched the lead to as many as 11 at 55-44 with 10:03 left after Lemasters hit three three-pointers in a 1:07 stretch.

Gilmore scored the next nine Birmingham-Southern points to close the gap to 55-53 with 6:48 left. Schott hit a pair of free throws and Brian Oilar added a jumper to push the lead back to six with 5:48 left. The Panthers later closed the lead to three, before the Tigers pushed it back to seven with just under two minutes left.

Schott's 28 were his second highest single-game output and the most at the Neal Fieldhouse. He added a game-high nine rebounds as DePauw held a 34-29 advantage on the boards. Oilar followed with 11 points and three blocks, while Mike Moore added eight assists and just one turnover.

Gilmore paced the Panthers with 22 followed by Parr with 17 and Daniel Hudson with 11. Michael Rebarchak grabbed six rebunds in the loss.

The Tigers shot just 40 percent for the game and only 34.5 percent in the second half, but knocked down 5-of-14 three-pointers over the final 20 minutes. Birmingham-Southern hit 49 percent from the field including 50 percent in the second half.

At DePauw

Birmingham-Southern 31 36 -- 67

DePauw University 34 34 -- 68

BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN (12-10) -- Wil Gilmore 8-11 3-6 22; Aaron Parr 7-10 0-0 17; Daniel Hudson 3-5 2-2 11; Michael Rebarchak 3-4 0-0 6; Roger Williams 2-8 0-0 4; Wheeler Flemming 1-4 1-2 3; Jordan Schultz 1-2 0-0 2; Austin Thames 0-3 1-2 1; Nathan West 0-1 1-2 1; Mark Messenger 0-1 0-1 0; Marcus Goodman 0-0 0-0 0; Phillip Rodgers 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-51 8-15 67.

DEPAUW UNIVERSITY (18-4) -- Stephen Schott 7-13 14-16 28; Brian Oilar 5-9 0-0 11; Steve Lemasters 3-7 0-0 9; Ryan Werntz 2-6 2-2 8; David Gray 2-4 2-5 6; Mike Moore 3-14 0-1 6; Trevor Stone 0-0 0-0 0; Joe Bergfeld 0-0 0-0 0; Tom Callen 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 18-24 68.

3-point goals--Birmingham-Southern 9-16 (Aaron Parr 3-5; Daniel Hudson 3-5; Wil Gilmore 3-4; Austin Thames 0-1; Nathan West 0-1), DePauw University 6-21 (Steve Lemasters 3-5; Ryan Werntz 2-5; Brian Oilar 1-4; Tom Callen 0-1; Mike Moore 0-6). Fouled out--Birmingham-Southern-None, DePauw University-None. Rebounds--Birmingham-Southern 29 (Michael Rebarchak 6), DePauw University 34 (Stephen Schott 9). Assists--Birmingham-Southern 14 (Wheeler Flemming 3), DePauw University 14 (Mike Moore 8). Total fouls--Birmingham-Southern 18, DePauw University 16. Technical fouls--Birmingham-Southern-None, DePauw University-None. A-400

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