Tampa, Fla.- DePauw never trailed and opened the Tampa Bay Shootout with a 68-64 first-round win over Drew University. The Tigers improved to 6-3, while the Rangers dropped to 4-5 on the season.

Opening the game on an 8-2 run, the Tigers were off to a quick start behind Michael Wilkison's early three-pointers. DePauw extended its lead to as much as 13 before the Rangers closed the half on a 14-5 run trailing 38-34 entering the locker room.

The second half proved to be a back-and-forth contest until late in the half when the Tigers were able to pull away. With 12:12 remaining in the game Drew tied the score at 48 on a Chris Capelli jumper. DePauw answered when Wilkison hit one of his six three-pointers of the game.

DePauw never looked back and were able to put away the Rangers advancing to the championship game against the winner of Kalamazoo vs. Regis game.

Wilkison had a game-high 24 points going 8-14 from the floor including a 6-10 mark from three-point land. Tommy Fernitz notched his first collegiate double-double grabbing 15 a career-high rebounds and adding 15 points. Pat Haggin tallied 14 points in the victory.

The Tigers dominated on the glass outrebounding Drew 43-29 including an 18-7 edge on the offensive boards. DePauw went 17-26 from the charity stripe (65.4%) and shot 38.6 percent from the floor.

Drew was led by Mike Klinger and Jason Huelbig with 23 points and 22 points, respectively. John Ford went a perfect 4-4 from the floor adding 12 points in the loss.