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Foster, Ogilvy lead Vanderbilt's comeback win over DePaul

Dec 13, 2007 - 5:34 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Held in check for most of the game, Shan Foster and A.J. Ogilvy stepped up in crunch time when it mattered most.

The best scoring duo in the Southeastern Conference, Foster and Ogilvy combined for eight of Vanderbilt's 12 points in overtime as the 21st-ranked Commodores remained unbeaten with a 91-85 come-from-behind victory over DePaul on Wednesday.

"We found a way to win and that seems to be the way these guys sort of do it," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings. "We didn't play well on offense or defense, but we'll take the win."

Foster and Ogilvy came into the game ranked first and second in the SEC, respectively, averaging a combined 40.0 points per game. However, the duo was held to just 10 points in the first half as DePaul led by as many as 18 points early in the second half.

Trailing 78-70 with under two minutes to play, Vanderbilt (10-0) ended regulation on a 9-1 run capped by a layup by Ogilvy on a feed from Alex Gordon with 21 seconds remaining. Draelon Burns missed a fallaway jumper with one second to play - sending the game into overtime - and DePaul made just 1-of-5 free throws in the final two minutes.

"Down the stretch, Coach Stallings said if they miss the free throw, the ball was coming down to me," Ogilvy said. "That's what we ran and we knew it would work for us."

After the Blue Demons scored the first basket of the extra period, Ogilvy made a free throw and a dunk followed by a 3-pointer by Foster to give the Commodores an 85-81 lead with 2:02 left.

"They (DePaul) did a good job of defending me," Foster said. "For the better part of the game, I didn't do a good job of making myself available and moving off screens. My teammates did a good job of finding me when I was open and I was able to knock down a couple of shots and we were fortunate enough to come out with a victory."

DePaul cut the lead to two points with under 30 seconds to play before Ogilvy broke away for a dunk to give the Commodores an 89-85 advantage with 22 seconds left.

"We were in a position to win and that's all you can ask," DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright said. "The important thing is that we don't take a step back and move forward and continue to improve."

Foster and Ogilvy each finished with 19 points, while Alan Metcalfe added 18 points off the bench for the Commodores.

Vanderbilt had an early 17-13 lead midway through the first half, but DePaul went on a 20-2 run to take a 33-19 advantage with 4:19 left before the break.

After leading by 12 at the half, the Blue Demons held a 58-40 cushion with just under six minutes into the second half. However, the Commodores went on an 18-4 run - keyed by 10 points from Metcalfe - to cut the deficit to 62-58 with 9:26 to play.

Burns had 24 points and Mac Koshwal added 21 for DePaul (2-4), which shot just 5-of-22 from the arc and 12-of-21 from the foul line for the game.

"The story of the game ultimately was at the free-throw line," Wainwright said. "It's something they practice. If you make free throws you close out the game. We let them back in the game."