Walker leads DePaul over Detroit 68-66 in OT
ROSEMONT -- Detroit coach Ray McCallum told his players not to let Will Walker beat them. The DePaul star beat the Titans, anyway.
"We wanted to keep track of Walker. We did not want Walker to get it," McCallum said. "He's a clutch player, as you have watched for four years now. He made the big 3."
With no other viable options and the shot clock running down, Walker pulled up from 5 feet beyond the arc and swished the go-ahead 3-pointer with 44.7 seconds left in overtime, leading the Blue Demons to a 68-66 victory Saturday.
Walker finished with 20 points despite going through a 14-minute scoreless stretch in the second half and overtime as the Titans focused on him.
"He's got the ultimate green light with me, but he really has good judgment," DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright said. "Will Walker has been as patient a player at letting the game come to him as anybody I've ever coached."
Eric Wallace added a career-high 16 points for DePaul (4-1), which won its second-straight game without Mac Koshwal. The standout center has a foot injury and Wainwright isn't sure when he'll return, so the coach was grateful to get bigger-than-expected contributions from freshmen Tony Freeland and Ryan Siggins.
Freeland, a highly touted forward who made his debut after sitting out the first semester waiting for NCAA clearance, provided energy and grabbed 5 second-half rebounds. Siggins, a walk-on, had 5 points and 5 rebounds in a career-high 24 minutes.
"Tony had two practices," Wainwright said. "(Siggins) gave up scholarship offers because he wanted to come to our university. He's worked really hard to get minutes."
After Walker's shot gave DePaul a 66-63 lead, Detroit's Xavier Keeling made a free throw and Freeland missed two foul shots. Chase Simon then missed a 3-pointer, Siggins grabbed the rebound and fired ahead to Wallace for a clinching fast-break dunk.
"Eric was ahead of me and I got it up there because I knew he could finish," Siggins said. "And we're roommates."
Thomas Kennedy scored 17 points and Simon 16 for Detroit (4-2), which missed a chance to win late in regulation when Keeling and Eli Holman couldn't hit close-in shots. DePaul's Jeremiah Kelly then missed a short jumper at the buzzer, leaving it tied at 58.
"We couldn't complain about the look," McCallum said. "We got (two) shots right there in the lane. You've got to put those in."
Keeling scored to open overtime, giving Detroit its first lead since early in the game, but Kelly responded with a 3-pointer. Walker made a layup to put the Blue Demons up 63-60 before Simon tied it with a 3, setting the stage for Walker's winner.
Holman, who came in averaging 16.2 points and 11.2 rebounds, picked up three early fouls and didn't score until 11:56 remained in regulation. The Detroit center finished with 6 points and 6 rebounds.