Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw hit 13-of-14 free throws in the second overtime and outlasted visiting Wittenberg, 79-75, in a North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal game at Neal Fieldhouse.
With the win, fourth-seeded DePauw improved to 17-9 and advanced to Friday's semifinal where they'll take on host Ohio Wesleyan at 8:30 p.m. Fifth-seeded Wittenberg finished with a 10-16 mark for its first losing season since 1955-56.
With 11 ties and 10 lead changes, the contest was about as tight as possible with neither team leading by more than four points in the opening half as the teams headed to the intermission tied 23-23.
DePauw briefly stretched the margin to six in the opening five minutes of the second half, but Wittenberg scored nine straight to take a three-point lead. The hosts again pushed the lead to six, but Wittenberg scored the next six to knot the contest at 45-45.
Luke Lattner's jumper gave DePauw a 52-47 lead with 2:36 left in regulation but Wittenberg put together a 6-1 run capped by Jaelin Williams' layup with 41 seconds remaining which made it 53-53. Williams, who was fouled on the play, was unable to convert the free throw.
DePauw had a couple of field goal tries on its final possession of regulation, but Connor Rich's jumper was blocked and Frank Patton III's three-pointer was off the mark and the Tigers were called for a shot clock violation.
Williams launched a three that missed and John Albertson's putback went through the cylinder, but after the horn sounded.
Wittenberg led the entire first overtime until Lattner buried a three with 1:33 left to give DePauw a 61-60 lead. With 1:08 left, Williams hit the first of two free throws and DePauw rebounded. DePauw got the ball to Tommy Fernitz, but his jumper missed and Wittenberg controlled. A three-pointer from Wittenberg's Cody Phillippi glanced off the rim and Bob Dillon snagged the rebound.
DePauw trailed just once in the second extra session after Wittenberg's Sam Collins knocked in a three with 3:29 left to make it 66-65. Rich countered on the other end with a trey to give DePauw a two-point lead.
The host Tigers eventually led by as many as seven at 73-66 and still held a 75-70 advantage with 17 seconds left after Lattner made two charity tosses. Collins quickly drove for a layup and was fouled, but couldn't convert the three-point play.
Fernitz hit two free throws at the 11-second mark, but Alex Fultz banked in a three with 4.6 seconds left to trim the DePauw lead to 77-75 with seven seconds remaining. Wittenberg fouled Lattner on the inbound pass and he knocked in both free throws to seal the victory.
Lattner led all scorers with 26 points, while Fernitz finished with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds along with a game-high three steals. Dilon added 10 points and matched a career-high with eight rebounds. Patton dished out seven assists in the win.
Phillippi paced Wittenberg with 16 points, while Collins added 13 and Williams 12. Shane Edwards grabbed 12 rebounds in the loss.
DePauw shot 41.8 percent from the floor to Wittenberg's 46.6 percent. DePauw, however, outscored Wittenberg from the line 28-13.