The DePauw men's basketball squad stepped on Fenlon Court on the Tampa Preparatory School campus tonight to take on Connecticut College in the opening game of the 2012 Tampa Bay Shootout and easily defeated the Camels, 79-45.
DePauw (6-4) moves to tomorrow's 3 p.m. Shootout championship game against LaGrange (7-1) after the Panthers defeated Westminster, Pa. (4-6), 101-79, in this evening's second game. Connecticut College (4-6) and Westminster play in Sunday's 1 p.m. consolation game. The Tigers are aiming for their fourth consecutive Shootout title after securing their seventh berth in the title game.
The Tigers followed up a 57.9% shooting performance in their last game (vs. Kalamazoo, 12/19/2012) with another solid showing from the floor, shooting 53.4%. That marks the first time since the 2008-09 season that DePauw has shot better than 50 percent in consecutive games.
DePauw jumped Connecticut College from the opening tip, taking a 19-4 lead with just over 10 minutes to play in the first half thanks to seven-consecutive points from senior Kevin Sullivan.
From there the Tigers began to punish the Camels in the paint using spectacular passing from their post players to cutting guards and tremendous 'back-to-the-basket' play from their forwards, Camron Burns, Tommy Fernitz and Mark Johnson. In the first half, DePauw tallied 26 points in the paint, while Connecticut College only scored six.
As the first half wound down, DePauw kept the pressure on Connecticut College, capping a 9-0 run at the end of the half with a three-quarter court three-pointer from freshman guard Bradley Fey to send the Tigers into the half with a 46-19 lead.
DePauw continued its stellar play into the second half, using a variety of defensive sets to hold Connecticut College's leading scorer, Matt Vadas, to only eight points on the night on 3-12 shooting from the field. Coming into Saturday's play, Vadas averaged over 21 points per game, shooting 44.2%. Furthermore, the Tigers were able to hold Vadas to his lowest point total and only single-digit scoring effort of the season.
Due to the Camels' halftime adjustments, the Tigers modified their offense and found the weak points in Connecticut College's defense. In the second stanza, DePauw outscored the Camels 33-26 en route to a 79-45 victory.
"I thought our guys really came out with some great energy to start the game," DePauw head coach Bill Fenlon said. "That fueled us at both ends of the court."
The 45 points scored by Connecticut College is their lowest offensive output since scoring 44 points in a 52-44 loss to Springfield College on December 13, 2011.
For the game DePauw shot 53.4% from the field, their fourth 50-percent shooting effort already this season while holding the Camels to their lowest shooting percentage from the floor, 29.1%, all season.
DePauw had three players score in double-figures, led by seniors Barry Flynn and Sullivan with 11 and Johnson with an even 10. Overall, 11 Tigers notched at least two points in the contest, while 16 total DePauw players received minutes.
With his 11-point performance in today's game, Flynn went over the 500-point plateau, now standing at 510 career points. Flynn did not play basketball his freshman year after transferring from Ball State where he played football.
In the evening's second game, Denzel Robinson paced LaGrange with 23 points, while Patrick Dugger dropped in 21 and a game-high 13 rebounds. Westminster's Doug Smith led five double-figure scorers on his team with 19. The Panthers shot 54.2 percent from the floor and held a 47-39 edge on the boards.