A big first half that saw the Pirates shoot 50 percent or better
from the field (50%), three-point range (55.6%) and the free throw
line (61.5%) set the stage for Southwestern University's 69-62 win
over DePauw University in the first round of the SCAC Conferen
ce tournament on Friday.
Southwestern went on a 21-8 run over a nine minute span in the
first half to go up by 13 points with four minutes remaining.
Sophomore guard Nick Caputo was on
fire of the bench for the Pirates, going 3-4 from beyond the arc
and 3-3 from the free-throw line for 12 points in just ten minutes
of play in the half. Sophomore forward Jonathan Brown
also served a huge roll in the run by scoring 11 points.
Southwestern went into halftime up by eight, 39-31.
As the second half began, DePauw surged back and pulled within
three just one minute into the period, but the Pirates were able to
push back and went up by 12 after junior guard Zach Bergstrom
drained a three and was fouled and connected on the free-throw.
With just under nine minutes to play, Southwestern led by twelve,
56-44.
With five minutes to go Southwestern seemed to have the game
wrapped up, being up by 14, 64-50. DePauw had one last fight left
in them and pulled within two points with a little over two minutes
remaining. Bergstrom put an end to the Tigers hopes with a three
with 46 seconds left in the game and put Southwestern up by five
again.
DePauw's leading scorer on the night, Carey Werntz, could not
connect at the other end of the floor and senior forward Andrew McDonald
secured the rebound. The Tigers were forced to foul and junior
guard Anthony
Cox sealed the win by draining both free throws.
The victory was in large part due to the balanced attack and
rebounding efforts of the Pirates. Four players were in double
figures for Southwestern. Brown led with 16 points, junior guard Travis Barber
had 13, Caputo ended with 12 and Bergstrom followed with 10. Barber
had a double-double in the victory with his 13 points and 11
rebounds that led the team. Southwestern out-rebounded the Tigers
for the game 44-29.
With the win the Pirates improve to 17-9 and advance to the
semi-finals
on Saturday. They will face conference rival Trinity who
narrowly defeated Sewanee in overtime, 53-52. Southwestern fell in
both regular season match-ups this year against Trinity, but only
by a combined 10 points. Tip-off is at 5:00 pm.
