Sunday, March 4, 2012

DePaul Rocks Seton Hall in Final Home Game for Seniors

The DePaul Blue Demons throttled the Seton Hall Pirates early Saturday evening by the score of 86-58.  It was an outstanding performance on both sides of the ball as the Demons sent their seniors out on a high note at the AllState Arena.  I was fortunate to attend the game with my parents and my friend Tom, and I'll give a little rundown of what I saw, including my halftime roll for a shot to win a 2012 Volvo (retail value around $32,000).

The Demons came out rather sluggish, but Seton Hall wasn't exactly on top of their game either.  The Demons were in a close battle, but began to pull away in the closing stages of the first half, as freshman Jamie Crockett began to bury three pointers.  I watched the whole first half, but my attention was on what I was about to do at halftime.  At the under 8 minute timeout, I was introduced as one of the contestants for a competition to win a 2012 Volvo at halftime.  Two weeks prior, I won a shooting competition at the game against Louisville to qualify, and at halftime I would be rolling a basketball from free three throw to opposite baseline in an attempt to get it through this slot barely big enough to fit the ball through.  I was a little bit nervous, but I was more nervous with the shooting competition two weeks ago.  Plus, I had nothing to lose, so I readied myself for the halftime endeavor.

As halftime started, we were introduced and asked if we had prepared for the contest in any way.  I replied with a, "No, but I hope my bowling skills can pay off", which was a bit of a silly response.  I had drawn to go last of the three contestants, so it was nice to be able to see what the other two would do.  The first contestant, who lives in Elk Grove, missed left by a pretty decent margin, so I knew I didn't want to do that.  The second guy missed right by a good margin, so I knew I just had to balance out their two mistakes.  With this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at stake, I took a deep breath, got low, and let the ball roll with a chance to win a car and.............

I failed.  Just like the first guy, I missed right and knew it right off my hand.  I would have liked to hit the board set up, but all three of us weren't super close.  It was fun, but I was a little disappointed that I couldn't come closer.

Back to the game, the rout was on in the second half, as the Demons put a merciless beating on the Pirates.  Seven years ago to the day I saw the Demons do the same to the eventual Big East tournament champs Syracuse Orange, 108-69.  It was a stunning result as the Demons couldn't miss that day, and yesterday was no different as they may have sent the Pirates to the NIT.  The Pirates started the year great, but they have to make some noise in the Big East Tournament to have any chance.

Jamee Crockett led the Demons with 21 points, including 5 three-pointers and an incredibly acrobatic dunk over a defender on an alley-oop, good enough to make #6 on SportsCenter's Top Ten Plays.  Senior Jeremiah Kelly closed out his home career in style, going for 15 points and 10 assists.  Cleveland Melvin chipped in 14 points and 9 rebounds in the Demons' most complete game of the season.

Senior Day is always emotional across college arenas, and this one was no exception as we said farewell to Jeremiah Kelly and Krys Faber.  Kelly, a senior point guard from Chicago, played great today and had many good moments as a Blue Demons player.  Faber, a senior center from Palmdale, California, had a bucket late in the game to end his regular season career at DePaul.  While I've been frustrated with these players at times, it was great to see them finish this way.  They are superstar players by any means, but they worked hard and seem like really good kids.  I also admire how they stuck it out through this rough time in DePaul hoops.  While many guys transferred probably because they didn't like all the losing, I commend these guys for their persistence and it finally paid off on Saturday.  They serve as an example for the younger guys and hopefully this will be a stepping stone for big things to come in the future for DePaul hoops.

Up next: Big East Tournament action starting on Tuesday.

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