DePaul University Athletics
Men's Basketball Edges Past California 68-65
12/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
Post Game Audio: Jerry Wainwright
Box Score
The Golden Bears (6-3) trailed 67-65 with 14.7 seconds left when Rod Benson turned the ball over on the inbound pass to Powe at the top of the key. But Sammy Mejia missed a free throw on the other end for DePaul (6-4) to give
Powe drew the fifth foul on Karron Clarke and went to the line with a chance to tie it. But his missed the first shot and purposely missed the second. The ball failed to touch the rim, giving the Blue Demons the ball. Mejia hit one free throw for the final margin.
Mejia had 20 points and kept the Blue Demons close all game in the first meeting between the schools since playing twice during the 1998-99 season. The Bears earned a 58-57 victory in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament that year on the way to winning the NIT title. Wilson Chandler grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for the Blue Demons.
Burns, who scored 13 points, pulled DePaul within 63-62 on two free throws at 2:35, then stole the ball on the other end moments later and drove the entire court for a layin. Wilson Chandler scored the next time down on a pretty fast break with Mejia for a 66-63 DePaul lead before a
Ayinde Ubaka hit three 3-pointers in the second half on the way to 16 points, and
Powe added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Bears (6-3), who played for the first time in 11 days after a break for final exams.
DePaul, which completed a four-game road swing at
With the win tonight, the Blue Demons have now posted wins over teams from the Pac-10 (Cal), ACC (Wake Forest), Big Ten (Northwestern), Atlantic 10 (Dayton), Missouri Valley (Creighton) and Conference USA (UAB).