For the second time this week, DePauw faced a ranked opponent and for the second time the game wasn't decided until the final minute as the Tigers lost at #22 Wooster by a 74-67 score.
DePauw dropped to 13-12 overall and 7-9 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while Wooster improved to 21-4 overall and 12-4 in the NCAC. The two teams will square off on Tuesday, February 21, at Wooster in the quarterfinal round of the NCAC Tournament. The Tigers have dropped seven of their last eight with five coming by seven or fewer points.
Wooster jumped out to an 18-6 lead with 11:38 left in the first half after going on a 10-0 run. The Tigers got as close as three at 29-26 before heading to the intermission on the short end of a 33-28 score.
The Tigers used a 9-1 run capped by Sean Haseley's three to take a 42-39 lead with 14:25 remaining. DePauw still led 45-42 before Wooster put together a 10-2 stretch to grab a 52-47 advantage at the 11:16 mark.
Justin Hallowell buried back-to-back threes to give Wooster a 64-58 lead with 4:35 left, but the Tigers eventually tied the score for the eighth time in the half at 64-64 on Alex Payne's layup with 2:56 left. Xavier Brown's bucket and Matt Fegan's triple gave the hosts a 69-64 advantage with 1:25 remaining.
Kevin Sullivan hit a pair of free throws with 1:06 left to trim the lead back to three but Hallowell matched that to extend the lead back to five with 48 seconds left. Haseley and Brown each made 1-of-2 free throws and the Tigers couldn't convert with 10 seconds left before Hallowell made two more charity tosses to seal the win.
Barry Flynn led DePauw with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Haseley followed with 12 points and a team-high five assists and Sullivan added 10 points.
Hallowell paced Wooster with 22 points but hauled down five rebounds to share team rebounding honors with Justin Warnes. Josh Claytor added 12 points followed by Brown with 11 and Evan Pannell with 10. Fegan led the way with seven assists.
DePauw shot 52.0 percent from the floor to Wooster's 49.1 percent, but the Fighting Scots hit 8-of-19 from beyond the arc to DePauw's 5-of-15. The Tigers also held a 30-27 rebounding edge, but Wooster committed just eight turnovers to DePauw's 12.