JACKSON, Miss. - The East's top two seeds, Centre College and DePauw University, won their semifinal match-ups on Saturday to advance to the SCAC Championship game. Centre defeated Trinity University 62-44 while DePauw beat Austin College 53-47.
The Centre College Colonels, the top seed out of the East
Division, advanced to their fifth straight Southern Collegiate
Athleti Conference championship with a 62-44 semifinal win over the
Trinity University Tigers Saturday afternoon.
Centre and Trinty last met in the postseason in the semifinals of
the 2008 SCAC Tournament where the Colonels got the better of the
Tigers, 70-57. The two teams have met a total of five times since
the SCAC readopted a postseason conference tournamnent in
2002-03.
Four Colonels, led by Jeff Mullaney's 12 points, scored in
double-figures. Teammates Bryon Ellis, Josh Crawford and Danny Noll
all scored 10 points in the win. Alex Lloyd led Centre with a
game-high 12 rebounds.
Centre used a dominating performace from its post players. The
Colonels held a 20-8 advantage in points from the paint. They also
were helped by 14 second chance points while out-rebounding Trinity
by a 41-28 mark.
Trinity was led junior forward Luke Caldarera's double-double. He
tallied team-leading totals in points (14) and rebounds (10). Ryan
Beall chippped in with 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting.
Centre jumped to a 23-16 halftime lead as both teams shot a
combined 15-for-52 (28.9 percent. The Colonels used a 12-2 run over
the first five minutes of the second half to open up a 35-18 lead.
Centre led by as much as 20 on three separate occassions in the
second half.
With the win, the Colonels improve to 17-8 and will play the winner
of the second semifinal between Austin College and DePauw
University on Feb. 28 at Noon CT. Trinity finishes the season at
14-13.
Austin College vs. DePauw Box Score
DePauw University, the second seed from the East, used a 17
point effort from Drew Wills to defeat Austin College in the
semifinals of the 2010 SCAC Tournament, 53-47.
The Tigers' win was the first win for a lower seeded team during
the tournament. DePauw's Tony James was the only other Tiger to
score in double-figures as he chipped in with 11 points and four
assists.
The first half was marked by poor shooting as from both teams as
DePauw shot 21.9 percent (7-for-32) and Austin College shot 26.9
percent (7-for-26). The Tigers held a 17-16 halftime lead. However,
DePauw shot nearly 58 percent (11-for-19) while Austin College shot
11-for-29 (37.9 percent).
The Kangaroos were paced by senior guard, and 2009-10 SCAC Player
of the Year, Kola Alade. Alade tallied a team-high 14 points on
six-for-19 shooting to go along with six assists and two
steals.
DePauw held a slight advantage on the glass, 39-32. With the win,
the Tigers advance to their second SCAC championship game and look
for the program's third league title since joining the SCAC in
1998-99. The Tigers improved to 20-7. Austin College dropped to
20-7, a school record season.
For exclusive interviews with student-athletes and head coaches, please visit the SCAC Blog.
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