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February 27, 2010, Jackson, Miss. — DePauw advanced to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship game for the first time since 2006 following a 53-47 win over Austin in the conference tournament semifinal contest.
The Tigers improved to 20-7 and will face Centre on Sunday at Noon CST in a rematch to the 2006 SCAC title tilt. Austin dropped to 20-7 with the loss.
Austin took a 16-7 lead, but DePauw held the Kangaroos scoreless over the final seven minutes of the first half and put together a 10-0 run to grab a 17-16 halftime lead.
After Austin regained a two-point lead less than three minutes into the second half, the Tigers scored 14 straight capped by Sean Haseley's jumper with 14:20 left to make it 34-22. DePauw's lead was still 10 at 41-31 after Drew Wills (pictured) scored a layup with just over seven minutes remaining.
The Roos rattled off eight straight to close the gap to 41-39 with 2:28 left. Haseley and Austin's Chris Sturtevant then exchanged threes before Wills scored with 1:29 left to give DePauw a 46-42 lead. Wills hit two charity tosses with 27 seconds left to extend the margin to six before Kola Alade hit a three with 21 seconds remaining to cut the Tigers' lead to 48-45.
Tony James pushed the lead to five with a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left before Sturtevant hit a pair to make it 50-47 with 11 seconds remaining. Tom Callen knocked in a pair with just eight seconds left to seal the win.
Wills led the Tigers with a career-high 17 points, while James added 11 and a team-high four assists. Callen and David Gray each hauled down 11 rebounds as DePauw held a 39-32 edge on the boards.
Alade paced Austin with 14 points and six assists and Scott Straley followed with 12 points. Sturtevant led the Roos with six rebounds.
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