Bees give Demons a scare

By Dan Tomlin
from: The Dispatch - Rock Island Argus
Thursday, November 2, 2006

CHICAGO -- The St. Ambrose Fighting Bees almost made the DePaul Blue Demons look red in the face.

What was supposed to be a lopsided exhibition for the Demons turned into a dogfight when freshman Alex Burkle knocked down a trey to give the Bees a 45-44 lead with just over 14 minutes to go in the game.

Up 51-49, Blue Demon sophomore Wilson Chandler flew down the lane and slammed home a two-handed dunk off a missed shot, keying a 15-2 run that put the upset out of reach, and clinched the 89-73 win for DePaul.

Chandler was on the receiving end of two high-flying, ally-oop dunks, showing off athleticism that soon could make him a millionaire, leading all scorers with 28 points.

The Bees were paced by Burkle and transfer Brett Cole with 21 points each in their SAU debut. Another of the Bee transfers, center Dan Ramoino, pulled down 11 boards, six offensively.

Burkle nailed five 3-pointers, making his first two immediately after coming off the bench.

"I was pretty nervous, but once I got the first one to go I felt better," Burkle said. "It started to feel like any other night."

While DePaul electrified the crowd with several ally-oops, the Bees weren't without their highlights. Both Chris Washington and Brandon Mays had breakaway slams, sending the sizable St. Ambrose contingent into a frenzy.

After just one game, it's always hard to tell, but St. Ambrose head coach Ray Shovlain thinks the team could have a pretty nice formula, although for Shovlain, there's always room for improvement.

"There were about four or five times in a row at the end of the first half that we turned the ball over," Shovlain said. "We should've been up about 8 or 10 points at halftime (instead of trailing 34-31). We played aggressive, and that's a good start."

The Bees, who gave up a few inches and about 30 pounds at each position were outrebounded by just four, something DePaul head coach Jerry Wainwright said is a wakeup call.

"They're a well-coached team, and teams like that will always give you problems early in the season," Wainwright said. "We weren't real aggressive early on, and they were a tough team."

Shovlain thought his religious conviction might be the scale-tipping factor, only realizing too late he was doomed for a stalemate.

"I went to church Sunday and Monday thinking we'd have an advantage," Shovlain said. "But then I realized DePaul is Catholic too."

After Wednesday night's display, it may be the Bees who play the part of the Demons to their opponents the rest of the year.

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