Regulation was not enough as the Centre College men's basketball team needed two overtime periods to defeat DePauw University 90-88 in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference game, Friday, Jan. 13, in Greencastle, Ind.
After starting 0-2 in conference play, the Colonels have now won two straight SCAC games improving to 9-4 overall and 2-2 in the league. DePauw falls to 5-9 overall and 1-3 in conference action.
DePauw led for much of the first half owning a 28-22 lead with 7:14 left. With 4:31 remaining, sophomore guard Thomas Britt capped an 11-2 Centre run with a three pointer to give the Colonels their first lead at 33-30. Centre closed the first half with a 9-3 run to take a 42-35 lead into the break.
A three pointer by junior forward Matt Jacobson and a lay up by senior center Reggie Magnusson gave Centre a 12 point cushion early in the second half.
Down 49-37, the Tigers made a run outscoring the Colonels 18-5 to regain the lead at 55-54 midway through the second period. Centre answered to retake the lead and go up by six points (63-57) with just under six minutes to play.
Once again DePauw fought back. After Britt made two free throws to give Centre a 70-67 lead with only 0:14 left, the Tigers' Alex Stewart nailed a three-pointer under 10 seconds to tie the game. The Colonels had two lay up attempts to win it in regulation, but failed to convert.
The first overtime period was tightly contested. Centre led for much for much of the time but could not extend the lead past three points. Junior forward Coy Zerhusen made two free throws with 0:16 to give Centre another three-point lead. Once again, Stewart made a clutch three-point shot to send the game into its second extra period.
The Colonels made three free throws and a jumper to take an 87-82 lead with 2:52 left. DePauw pulled within 87-86 with just over a minute to play. After sophomore guard Matt Nestheide made a free throw for a two-point Colonel lead, DePauw's Reid Sakel tied the game at 88 apiece with a jumper at the 0:20 mark.
Nestheide was fouled again, this time with only three seconds on the clock. The sophomore guard made both attempts and the Tigers raced down the court but a last second shot would not go down and the game would finally come to an end.
All five Centre starters scored in double figures. Nestheide finished with a team-high 22 points on 6 of 10 from the field, including 3 of 4 from the three-point line and 7 of 8 from the free throw line. Nestheide also added four assists in 45 minutes of action.
Zerhusen posted his fourth double-double of the season scoring 16 points and grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds. Britt also scored 16 points in 40 minutes. Jacobson notched 15 points and Magnusson added 11 points.
Reid Sakel finished with a game and career-high 23 points for DePauw. Stewart notched 16 points. Stephen Schott scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Matt McDonald and Todd Capes each added 11 points in the loss.
Centre will take a day off and play the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Sunday, Jan. 15, in Terre Haute, Ind. The SCAC contest will be played as part of a men's/women's double header and tip-off at 1:00 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Centre College vs DePauw University 1/13/06 8 pm at Neal Fieldhouse; Greencastle, Indiana At Neal Fieldhouse; Greencastle, Indiana CENTRE COLLEGE 90, DEPAUW UNIVERSITY 88 CENTRE COLLEGE (9-4, 2-2 SCAC) Matt Nestheide 6-10 7-8 22; Thomas Britt 4-14 4-4 16; Coy Zerhusen 6-9 4-6 16; Matt Jacobson 6-11 0-0 15; Reggie Magnusson 4-11 3-4 11; T.C. Thomason 1-2 2-2 4; John Patterson 1-5 0-0 2; Ryan Crowdis 1-1 0-0 2; Adam Patterson 1-1 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; Todd Capes 4-5 1-2 11; Matt McDonald 4-9 3-4 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 Career-high points for Sakel