IWU 87 Carthage 77 (2/2/08)

When we interviewed IWU senior Darius Gant immediately after the loss to Augie Wednesday - after an 18 point, 15 rebound performance - he was was very disappointed. Darius basically assumed responsibility for the inability of the Titans to close the game out, saying something to the effect of, "As a senior captain, this is on me."
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That's why last night was impressive to me. Gant was an absolute force the entire game, pulling down 20 rebounds, but especially down the stretch with the game on the line, in a very similar spot as the Augustana game. With IWU down 71-70 with 3:48 to go, Gant demanded the ball in the low post, got it, and scored to put the Titans up 1. After a Carthage miss, it was the same thing on the next possession to put IWU up 3 with 2:59 to go. Freshman Travis Rosenkranz scored to make it a 5 point game at 1:59, then Gant delivered the dagger -- a fast break dunk to push the Titan lead to 7 with 1:21 to go.
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Down the stretch, Darius got every big rebound and made every big offensive play necessary for the Titans to win an important conference game. We once again had him on the postgame show, and he said, "After the Augie game, I just really felt bad, and I felt like as a senior leader I had to do whatever I can. I know everyone that's come before me - Dauksas, Keelan, Zach - when there were situations like that, those guys stepped up and did amazing things, so as a senior leader I felt like it's my responsibility just to make sure tradition gets passed on."
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Bosko said in the Carthage press release, "We didn’t have a matchup for Darius Gant. He’s a wonderful player, I like the way he plays, and I give him all the credit.” The Red Men really just do not have an answer for Gant athletically. In two games vs Carthage, Darius has 34 points, 37 rebounds, and is 12-19 from the field. He helped IWU to an incredible 48-28 rebounding edge over the visitors last night, and when you out-rebound your opponent by 20, I gotta believe you're going to win just about every time.
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Steve Djurickovic was just a ton again. The kid made a number of tough mid-range jumpshots to stop IWU runs throughout the game and was his usual aggressive self in going to the basket. I actually think IWU did a pretty good job on him, holding him to 10-24 from the field, but the bottom line is he still scored 28 points. He just has such great balance with the ball in his hands and just knows how to play the game.
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This was a big win for the Titans. Darius Gant's 22 & 20 performance is on the long list of "special performances" I've seen from great IWU players over the years at the Shirk Center in important CCIW games. It was great to see a senior step up and lead the way to a win.
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Pantagraph article

Boxscore

Ron Rose postgame interview (WJBC)