DePauw Falls 60-50 in the Battle of the Tigers

By Press release submission

Dec 11, 2022

A late run by the DePauw men's basketball team fell short in its 60-50 loss to the Wittenberg University Tigers. DePauw dropped to 1-2 in North Coast Athletic Conference play and 7-3 overall, while the Wittenberg Tigers improved to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

The Wittenberg Tigers would find the bottom of its net first following a DePauw turnover to start the first half. From there, the two teams traded baskets, with neither team able to pull ahead by more than a couple of possessions. Across 15 minutes of play, the two teams recorded nine lead changes and four ties, with Wittenberg eventually building a lead just before the half. Down by five with 1:02 left in the half, two free throws by Grant Niego and a last-second layup by Grant Gohmann put the DePauw Tigers down 28-27 heading into the second half.

At the half, both teams shot under 45 percent from the field; however, DePauw did have an edge from beyond the arc, shooting 44 percent from the three, while Wittenberg was just 2-for-11. The DePauw Tigers' bench also played a crucial role in keeping the first half close, putting in 15 of the 27 points. Sam Jacobs led the charge off the bench, shooting 3-3 from the field, and tallied 10 of his 12 points in the first half.

In the second half, the Wittenberg Tigers opened up play with an 11-2 run, ballooning its lead to as much as 13. Wittenberg found its rhythm from behind the arc and forced DePauw to anticipate both the drive in the key and the kick out for a three. With nine minutes left in the game, a minute-long spark from Nolan Niego and Grant Niego resulted in back-to-back baskets cutting DePauw's deficit to eight. A basket by Camden Brown shrunk the gap to 44-38, giving DePauw its best look at a comeback since the start of the half.

DePauw would remain within five points up until the last minute of play, however, the combination of late turnovers and Wittenberg capitalizing on free throw attempts in the final seconds of regulation, proved to be too much for DePauw to come back from, resulting in its 60-50 loss.

Jacobs would finish the night leading DePauw with 12 points, while Grant Niego added ten and led the team in rebounds with six. Brown, Gohmann, and Jacobs each recorded four rebounds for the night.

Brice Hill of Wittenberg put up 12 points, while Josh Tolliver scored 11 points and pulled five rebounds for the Wittenberg Tigers. Levi Boettcher impacted Wittenberg's dominating defense, tallying ten defensive rebounds and recording one steal and block throughout the game.

DePauw shot 32.1 percent for the game and was 12-18 from behind the free throw line. Wittenberg was 42.9 percent from the floor and outshot DePauw 32-24 in the paint.

DePauw's next matchup is in Gambier, Ohio, where the Tigers will take on the Kenyon College Owls on Saturday, December 10, at 3 p.m.