Onuorah's late free-throw caps victory

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Michael Onuorah sank a free-throw with 5.5 seconds left to give the DePauw men's basketball team a 51-50 victory over Oberlin, Saturday afternoon in the Neal Fieldhouse Saturday.

The Tigers improved to 13-6 overall and 6-6 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while the Yeomen dropped to 8-11 on the year and 4-8 in NCAC play.

Oberlin jumped out to a 7-0 lead and extended their lead to 18-8 by the 9:15 mark. The Yeomen hit a trio of threes to grab the early momentum, but were unable to connect from range for the remainder of the half.

DePauw was able to cut the deficit to six before the halftime break, using a mini 6-2 run capped off by Onuorah's layup with under 30 seconds left. He led all scorers with six first-half points off the bench. The Tigers shot 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from the field and just 1-of-8 (12.5%) from three.

The Yeomen shot 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from the field including a 37.5 percent (3-of-8) clip from three. Randy Ollie grabbed six boards and led Oberlin to a 19-12 edge on the glass.

In the second half, Oberlin hit their first three shots, forcing DePauw to take an early timeout.

Following the timeout the Tigers responded with an offensive explosion. Using a 12-0 run, DePauw trailed by just one at the 12:24 mark. Connor Rich, Frank Patton III and Onuorah hit threes to lead the charge, while Bob Dillon hit a layup to cap the run.

Oberlin would maintain a one possession lead until the 5:27 mark when Dillon's layup put the Tigers in front for the first time in the contest. Randy Ollie hit one free throw to tie the game at 44-44 with 5:06 remaining.

Luke Lattner hit a pair of free-throws to retake the lead. DePauw would hold a lead up until the 21.3 second mark when Jack Poyle hit a three to tie the contest at 50-50.

With under ten seconds left Onuorah drove to the hoop and drew a blocking foul, sending him to the line for a pair of free throws. His first attempt fell short and the Yeomen called a timeout in hopes of icing Onuorah.

After the stoppage, the 6-3 senior calmly stepped to the charity stripe and nailed his second free-throw, putting the Tigers in front 51-50 with 5.5 seconds on the clock.

Zach Meyers launched a shot from just inside the three-point line that went wide right, giving DePauw the one-point victory.

Onuorah had a game-high 15 points, while Patton III totaled nine points and Mark Johnson grabbed nine rebounds. The Tigers shot 34.0 percent (17-of-50) from the floor and 5-of-17 (29.4%) from three. DePauw went 12-for-19 from the line and committed just eight turnovers.

Oberlin was led by Nathan Cohen with 10 points and Ollie who grabbed 11 boards. The Yeomen shot 35.4 percent (17-of-48) from the floor and held a slight advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Tigers 34-33.

DePauw forced 13 turnovers and converted those into 13 points. The Tigers won the battle in the paint 22-18 and had 23 bench points to Oberlin's 22.

The Tigers are back in action Friday, February 6, when they travel to Allegheny for an 8:00 p.m. start. DePauw currently sits in fifth place in the league standings, while the Gators sit in a third-place tie with Wabash at 7-5.

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