Coach Joey Meyer yelled from his bench for pressure defense from the moment the tip went up Friday in De Paul`s exhibition game against Bayreuth of Germany.
Meyer got his defense in explosive bursts as the Blue Demons whipped the Germans 87-62 at Alumni Hall.
Early in the game, for example, De Paul outscored Bayreuth 20-0. Guards Joe Daughrity and Terry Davis pressured in the backcourt. The front line of 6- foot-10-inch Jeff Stern, 6-9 Stephen Howard and David Booth scored all 20 points for a 26-6 lead.
”We need Stern to dominate defensively and rebound and block shots,” said Meyer. ”For him to score 12, get nine rebounds and block five shots as he did in 21 minutes shows how well he played.”
Howard was high scorer with 20 points, hitting 8 of 11 shots. Stern was tops in rebounds and blocks.
Three newcomers stood out. Tom Kleinschmidt had three assists, six points and three rebounds; Brandon Cole scored nine points; and Howard Nathan played capably in Daughrity`s place.
