DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Northern Illinois
Freeland's Best Shoots DePaul Past Northern Illinois
12/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
Dec. 2, 2010
Bluetube: Highlights | Postgame Interviews | Jay Goedert Memorial Award
ROSEMONT, Ill. - Tony Freeland couldn't have picked a better time to have the best game of his college career.
The 6-foot, 6-inch sophomore came away with a career-high 25 points and a game-high nine rebounds in leading DePaul to an 86-84 victory over Northern Illinois Thursday night at the Allstate Arena.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak and improved the Blue Demons to 2-4.
"I didn't even recognize it," Freeland said about his landmark performance.
After the game, Freeland was presented the Jay Goedert Memorial Award which goes to the most outstanding player in the DePaul-Northern Illinois game. Goedert was an assistant coach at both schools before passing away from a heart attack at the age of 44.
"It felt great," Freeland said about the award. "It let me know I played hard out there tonight."
His teammates followed suit, especially in the team's Achilles heels---rebounding and free throws.
Led by Freeland, DePaul won the battle of the boards for the first time this season, outrebounding Northern Illinois 39-34.
"We came up with the big rebounds when we had to have them," said DePaul coach Oliver Purnell. "We did a credible job on the boards instead of a woeful job."
The Blue Demons shot 78 percent from the line, including seven-of-eight in the final 6 minutes and 44 seconds.
"We worked extremely hard on free throws---including three times today," Purnell said. "The free-throw line was big for us."
In those free-throw sessions, Freeland said each Blue Demon had a total of 45 attempts.
"We had to shoot 80 percent or else we were running," Freeland said. "We didn't want to be tired for the game."
Freshman Brandon Young (17 points) scored six points in a row to spark a 14-6 DePaul burst in the second half that staked the home team to a 64-48 lead.
But the Huskies responded with a 14-4 run to close within 68-62 with 7:05 left in the game. That was the closest NIU had been since early in the first half.
Former Seton Academy star Tony Nixon hit a three-pointer with 1:41 left that brought NIU to within 79-76. A Young basket and two free throws along with three free throws from Krys Faber enabled DePaul to hold off the Huskies.
Xavier Silas, who attracted attention from three NBA scouts, hit a three-pointer just before the final buzzer. Silas finished with a game-high 34 points on 12-of-17 shooting.
After going 14-of-24 from the line in his first five games, Freeland was 13-of-16 Thursday night.
"My free throw technique was off in the tournament last week (76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif.)," Freeland said. "I was rushing it.
"(Assistant) coach (Ron) Bradley helped me out a lot."
Young helped out in crunch time, scoring nine points in the final seven minutes. He scored all 17 of his points in the second half.
"He's a BIG EAST player," Purnell said about Young. "At times tonight, he played like a freshman. But in the big moments, he stepped up with big defensive plays or slashes to the basket."
Young became the first DePaul freshman to score in double figures for his first six games since Lance Williams accomplished the feat at the outset of the 1998-99 season.
Freeland had the best first half of his college career with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He also made seven of his first nine free throws as DePaul was 14-of-19 from the line in the first 20 minutes.
Freeland and the Blue Demons look to carry a little momentum into their 5 p.m. clash on Sunday with Central Michigan at Allstate Arena.
