The Southwestern University men's basketball team fought back from a 12 points deficit but could not get closer than four in the second half of a 59-51 loss at DePauw University on Saturday (Jan. 20) evening in Greencastle, IN.
The Pirates fell behind 10-5 in the early going before scoring seven straight points capped by a Matt Caplan (Houston, TX/University of Kansas) to go ahead by two. The game would see a pair of ties before Southwestern took its final lead of the game thanks to a Mike Powell (Houston, TX/Episcopal HS) three-pointer with 3:40 on the clock that gave SU a 17-14 lead. DePauw then scored the final seven points of the half for a four point lead at the half.
SU kept the score close in the early part of the second half before DePauw built its lead to double-digits on a Brian Oilar jumper with 11:21 left to play. The Pirates cut the lead back down to single-digits when Caplan hit a three at the 7:50 mark. Junior Goran Stojcic (Houston, TX/Stratford HS) drained a three-pointer with just under four minutes on the clock but the Pirates failed to get any closer the rest of the way.
Caplan was the Bucs' leading scorer as he had 13 points on 4-10 shooting, 3-5 from three-point range. He also had a pair of assists and three rebounds. Senior Casey Gorder (San Antonio, TX/Texas Military Academy) was the only other Pirate to score at least 10, putting up 10 points and leading the team with six boards.
Powell led all players with five assists while also contributing nine points. Stojcic had seven points on 2-4 shooting, including 2-2 from the charity stripe. First-year Anthony Cox (Flower Mound, TX/Flower Mound HS) recorded three steals in the contest.
Southwestern's overall season record now stands at 8-9 while the Pirates' SCAC record drops to 3-4. DePauw is atop the conference standings with a 6-1 SCAC mark and a 15-3 overall record.
The Pirates return to action when they host the Oglethorpe University Stormy Petrels for a SCAC matchup on Friday (Jan. 26) in Georgetown, TX at 8:00 p.m.
