Sakel leads DePauw men to win

Friday, January 19, 2007

Sports Writer

The DePauw University men's basketball team defeated a resilient Trinity squad, 66-51, Friday night at Neal Fieldhouse.

The Tigers built a second-half lead of 16 points with Matt McDonald and Reid Sakel helping lead the way.

Sakel had a game-high 13 points for DePauw and McDonald had eight in the win.

DePauw set the tone early as they kept an up tempo pace and placed some wonderful defense

"We directed the ball into places that were good for our defense," coach Bill Fenlon said after the game. "It feels like we're making a little progress there."

The second-half action was fast and feverish as both teams seemed content with the fast pace.

DePauw got an even bigger boost when Stephen Schott received the ball inside, turned and jammed the ball with authority to ignite the crowd. Schott scored eight points and had nine rebounds for the Tigers.

Mike Moore put on a clinic on Friday night. He scored nine points, but with a barrage of no-look or fake passes, he kept the crowd on the edge of their seats throughout the night.

Moore lit up the crowd one final time when he fed Austin Brown for the bucket , passing between his defender's legs. Brown had seven points and two steals on the night. DePauw closed the half hitting key free throws and continuing to play solid defense.

DePauw had a little tougher time in the first half. They saw an 11-point lead dwindle away to only two points at the 6:21 mark in the half. DePauw called a timeout after Sakel connected on a bomb. That's when the Tigers took off.

DePauw came out of the timeout with new energy and shots started falling to help the lead grow. They had a 10-point lead with just a minute remaining and sustained it when McDonald scored inside.

McDonald helped provide another crowd pleasing moment when he blocked the shot of a Trinity shooter. Brown grabbed the ball and took it the length of the court, providing some thunder for the Tigers with a Trinity defender on his hip.

DePauw went into halftime with a 36-24 lead and a swagger they had for the rest of the night.

Fenlon pointed to his players energy as a key into Friday's game win as well as their ability to keep Trinity off the boards.

"Matt McDonald had really good energy tonight. He was really active and when he plays like that, we're better." Fenlon said.

DePauw will face Southwestern tonight at 8 p.m.

At DePauw

DePauw 66 Trinity 51

DePauw (66) - Brown 7, Moore 9, Schott 8, Sakel 13, McDonald 8, James 7, Werntz 5, Oilar 9. Totals: FG 24-57 FT 11-17 TP 66

Trinity (51) - Moon 10, York 2, Houston 8, Hill 6, Gilb 8, Culver 3, Furlow 2, Siebert 3, Clark 2, Polidoroff 4, Lewis 3. Totals: FG 20-52 FT 8-11 TP 51

3pt. FG: DePauw 7 (Moore, James, Werntz, Oilar, Sakel 3), Trinity 3 (Moon 2, Culver) Rebounds: DePauw 40 (Schott 9) Trinity 29 (Hill)

Next game - The Tigers will face Southwestern tonight at 8 p.m.

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