DePauw men drop close one to third-ranked Centre

The DePauw men's' basketball team knew entering their game against South Central Athletic Conference rival Centre at Neal Field House Saturday afternoon would a monumental challenge, at best.

Centre entered the game ranked third in NCAA Division 3, and with only one loss this season, by one point, in their first game of the season.

The Tigers played a terrific game, leading Centre 64-63 with 3:08 to play, but Centre took the lead in the final minutes of the game, then with 0:04.2 left in the game, a three-point shot to tie the score by DePauw's Mike Moore went into the basket, then came back out, ending the Tigers hopes for the upset, 66-69.

"They are a really good team, and that's why they've won 21 games in a row, and are ranked 3rd in the country," commented DePauw head coach Bill Fenlon after the game.

"I feel like we can obviously compete with them, but we needed to make about three more plays than we made."

"We just didn't handle the drive very well. They just drove it to the basket way too many times, and they were 14-15 from the line."

"I'm not disappointed with our effort, we just didn't follow the plan as well as I would have liked on the defensive side," added Fenlon.

DePauw had four players scoring double figures, Stephen Schott with 19, Mike Moore with 18, and Tom Callen and Brian Oilar with 11 each.

Tony James followed with five, and Ryan Werntz closed out the Tiger scoring with two points.

Schott grabbed five rebounds, and Callen and Moore had four each, and Moore also had five assists.

This was the final home game for seniors Stone, Werntz, Oilar, and Schott.

The Tigers (18-5, 9-3 SCAC) travel to Sewanee Friday night. The game begins at 8:00 PM CST.

At DePauw

Centre (21-1, 12-0 SCAC) -- Britt 11-15 3-3 22, Thomason 4-14 3-3 11, Nestheide 5-12 2-3 11, Noll 5-9 2-2 11, Herman 1-4 0-0 2, Gowers 0-3 0-0 0, Matthews 1-4 4-4 6, Crowdis 3-3 0-0 6, Braden 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-64 FG, 14-15 FT, 69 TP.

DePauw (18-5, 9-3 SCAC) -- Callen 6-8 1-2 11, Werntz 1-8 0-0 2, Moore 9-19 3-5 18, Oilar 5-9 2-2 11, Schott 6-13 7-8 19, James 3-9 0-0 5, Stone 0-1 0-0 0, Gray 0-1 0-0 0, Lemasters 0-5 0-0 0, Bergfeld 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-72 FG, 13-17 FT, 66 TP.

3-pt. FG - DP 7-20 (Callen 2-3, Werntz 0-3, Moore 3-7, Oilar 1-3, James 1-2, Lemasters 0-2), C 5-17 (Britt 3-5, Thomason 0-3, Nestheide 1-4, Noll 1-3, Gowers 0-1, Matthews 0-1). Rebounds - DP 24 (Callen 4, Werntz 1, Moore 4, Schott 5, James 1, Stone 2, Gray 3, Lemasters 1, Bergfeld 2), C 27 (Britt 4, Thomason 3, Nestheide 2, Noll 9, Herman 2, Gowers 2, Matthews 3, Braden 1). Blocks -- DP 2 (Callen 1, Gray 1), C 4 (Britt 1, Thomason 1, Gowers 1, Crowdis 1). Assists -- DP 10 (Callen 1, Moore 5, Schott 1, James 2, Stone 1), C 9 (Thomason 1, Nestheide 6, Matthews 1, Crowdis 1). Steals -- DP 1 (James 1), C 4 (Britt 1, Gowers 1, Matthews 1, Crowdis 1). Total fouls -- DP 17, C 20. Fouled out -- none. Turnovers - DP 9, C 12.

Next games -- The Tigers (18-5, 9-3 SCAC) travel to Sewanee Friday night. The game begins at 8:00 PM CST.