Greencastle, Ind. - Luke Lattner poured in a career-high 28 points and Tommy Fernitz added 20 as DePauw improved to 8-3 overall and 1-3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference with an 85-71 victory over visiting Allegheny. The Gators dropped to 5-6 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
The Tigers scored the game's first nine points and held a 16-2 lead with 15:05 left in the half following Lattner's three-point play. They stretched the lead to as many as 20 before the Gators closed the gap to 46-29 at the break. DePauw hit 56.3 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and held an 18-8 edge on the boards.
In the early stages of the second half, the Tigers extended the margin to as many as 23 at 56-33 and still led 60-39 with 15:08 left. Josh Valentic's three-point play started a 10-0 run that closed the gap to 60-49 at the 12:55 mark.
The DePauw lead stayed in the 10-12 point range until Conor Macomber knocked in a three with 6:06 and then added a pair of free throws with 5:37 left to close the gap to 72-65. The Gators got as close as six after Chris Milon's layup with 4:00 remaining, but Lattner's three-pointer at the 2:46 mark pushed it back to nine.
Allegheny countered with a bucket before Lattner and Connor Rich each hit a pair of free throws to push the margin back to double digits.
Lattner's 28 came on 9-of-15 shooting from the field including 5-of-8 from three-point range. Fernitz added six rebounds, two blocks and four steals to his 20-point showing. Dillon and Rich each added 10 in the win with Dillon leading the team with a career-high eight rebounds.
Evan Zabriski paced Allegheny with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Isaiah Henderson added 13 points. Valentic and Milon scored 11 apiece with Valentic dishing out five assists.
The Tigers shot 53.8 percent for the game and nailed 22 of 29 free throws, while the Gators hit 46.3 percent from the floor. DePauw held a 31-23 edge on the boards and hauled down 13 on the offensive glass for a 19-11 margin in second-chance points.
DePauw returns to action tomorrow when it hosts Hiram in a 3 p.m. NCAC contest.