Lattner gets 34 as Tigers lose; Hunt named NCAC Offensive Player of Year

FRANKLIN — The DePauw University men’s basketball team got 34 points from senior Luke Lattner but failed to put up a W in its season opener in a 86-74 loss at Franklin on Wednesday night.

Lattner picked up where he left off last year going 12-of-25 from the field and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Nate Jahn added 11 points and was the only other Tiger to reach double figures.

DePauw (0-1) saw a 24-23 lead dissolve after a 7-0 run and a final spurt in the first half that put them down 10 at 46-36.

The Tigers turned it around exiting halftime with a 10-2 run to bring them within two at 48-46. However, the Grizzlies (1-0) got out once again and built their lead, going up double digits with eight minutes remaining and eventually securing the win.

Franklin got 29 points from guard Aaron Mann, 12 points from Robbie Prather and 11 from Brett McCoy.

Jack VandeMerkt scored four points and pulled down eight rebounds. Cris Burrough scored eight, James Clarke had six points, David Vogel had five and Ethan Jarrett scored four in his first game as a Tiger.

Franklin shot 50 percent to DePauw’s 38 percent. The Tigers went 13-of-15 from the line (87 percent) and 11-of-28 (39 percent) from behind the arc.

Franklin outrebounded DePauw 40-31, and scored 15 points off turnovers to DePauw’s eight. The Franklin bench also outscored DePauw’s 20-11 as the Grizzlies held their biggest lead of the game at 18 with 5:52 remaining.

DePauw returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, hosting Washington (Mo.) in its home opener.

Football

Senior quarterback Matt Hunt of DePauw University was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, while he and senior running back Jason Kirchhoff were named All-NCAC first team.

Hunt is the first player in DePauw history to earn the Mike Gregory Award as the NCAC’s Offensive Player of the Year. He was the unanimous selection from coaches after leading the league in numerous categories.

Hunt ranked first in rushing yards (947) and shared the lead league with 10 rushing touchdowns. He scored three or more rushing touchdowns against league opponents on three different occasions, including three in DePauw’s 37-34 victory over Wabash in the 123rd Monon Bell Classic on Nov. 12.

Hunt finished the season completing 249-of-348 passes for 2,580 yards and a league-leading 26 touchdown passes. Twenty-three of those came against NCAC foes, which included tossing four touchdowns in wins against Hiram, Kenyon, Allegheny and Oberlin.

Kirchhoff carried the ball 136 times for 705 yards averaging 5.2 yards per carry. He had a long of 62 and rushed for six touchdowns.

Kirchhoff was fourth in the NCAC in yards per game (Hunt was first at 94.7), third in rushing yards and 10th in rushing touchdowns. Kirchhoff also was third on the team with 30 catches for 232 yards and one receiving touchdown.

This is Hunt’s and Kirchhoff’s second consecutive first team selection.

Earning All-NCAC second team honors were sophomore wide receiver Andy Hunt, senior offensive lineman Eric Brooks, junior offensive lineman Jeremy Trudell, senior linebacker Will Longthorne, senior defensive lineman Mike Mitsch, sophomore defensive back Brooks Hepp and junior defensive back Rocky Leffler.

Andy was first in conference with 10 touchdown receptions, third with 67 catches and seventh with 686 yards.

The offensive line helped the backfield with 490.9 yards per game and 51 total touchdowns on the year. They also allowed just eleven sacks.

Longthorne led the team and was sixth in the NCAC with 94 total tackles. He added 11.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and four sacks.

Mitsch had 16 total tackles, two sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss.

Hepp led the team and conference with six interceptions and was second on the team with 70 total tackles. Leffler was fourth on the team with 58 total tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions.

Earning honorable mention were senior offensive lineman Cody Campbell, junior offensive lineman Andrew Saunders, sophomore defensive linman Nate Orrison, senior defensive lineman Pete Nelson and senior kicker Marko Adams.

Orrison recorded 25 total tackles and led the team and conference with 9.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss. His 13.5 tackles for loss was third in conference. Nelson had 30 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and was second on the team with five sacks.

Adams finished 15-of-21 in field goal attempts with a long of 45. He was also 45-of-51 on extra point attempts and led the team with 90 points, which was second in the conference.