Tigers close out season with sweep of Wooster

WOOSTER, Ohio — Third-ranked DePauw pushed its win streak to 20 and finished North Coast Athletic Conference play at 16-0 with a 78-53 win at Wooster on Saturday.

The Tigers moved to 24-1 overall and finished with a perfect NCAC record for the fifth time in nine seasons in the conference. Wooster finished its season at 7-18 overall and 3-13 in the league. DePauw enters the NCAC Tournament with the top seed and hosts Hiram tonight at 6 p.m.

Wooster scored the game’s first basket, but DePauw never trailed the rest of the way. A 10-0 run in the first turned a 6-6 tie into a 16-6 lead as the Tigers grabbed a 25-17 lead at the quarter break. The Fighting Scots were within four at 26-22 early in the second before DePauw put together a 14-2 stretch capped by Mya Shannon’s three-point play with 3:08 left in the half to make it 40-24.

The hosts outscored DePauw 8-2 to trim the DePauw halftime lead to 42-32.

The Tigers gradually pulled away in the second half with a 58-43 lead after the third before scoring the final seven points of the contest.

Sydney Kopp paced DePauw with 25 points and seven rebounds, while Mya Shannon added 17 points and three steals. Grace Kinsey led the way with four assists in the win.

DePauw shot 50.9 percent for the game to Wooster’s 25.5, but DePauw outrebounded the Fighting Scots, 44-29.

Men’s game

• DePauw 88, Wooster 87 (OT) — The DePauw University men’s basketball team came out on top in its nail-biting overtime victory over the College of Wooster on Saturday.

Beating the Fighting Scots in the final seconds of overtime, Aaron Shank sank a dagger of a three-pointer, putting an exclamation point on a game for the books.

Not only did the Tigers tie the program record for most threes in a game (18), DePauw also recorded its first victory at Wooster in program history.

Despite having a slow start in the first half, DePauw managed to string a 7-to-2 run to get an edge on Wooster.

Much to the Fighting Scots’ dismay three consecutive, three-pointers by the Tigers would be just the beginning of an onslaught of shooting from behind the arc.

Down by a basket at the half, the Tigers had six players on the board; however, Wooster’s starting guards Danyon Hempy and Keonn Scott proved to be a handful for DePauw defensively, as both players finished the first half with double digits.

After halftime, the Fighting Scots put in the first basket to extend its lead to four points.

Four minutes later, Wooster’s lead quickly disappeared and the game shifted in favor of the Tigers.

Putting in 10 points between Luke Steinhart, Nolan Ginther, Nick Felke and Shank, the Tigers would take a 45-49 lead with 15 minutes left in the half.

Maintaining the lead over Wooster throughout regulation was difficult, as the Fighting Scots would manage to answer every basket the Tigers would record. Fortunately for DePauw, crucial bench points by Cooper Mixon, Caymn Lutz and Ken Decker from behind the three allowed DePauw to hold tight to its lead.

With only 35 seconds remaining and the ball game tied at 78, the Tigers had control of the ball for one more shot; however, the tight defense by Wooster, stopped the Tigers and extending the game to overtime.

DePauw improves to 11-7 in the NCAC and 14-11 overall. The Tigers host Oberlin College tonight at Neal Fieldhouse, with tip-off set for 8 p.m.

DePauw to host NCAC tourney games

DePauw will host two different schools on Tuesday night in North Coast Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal action.

The No 3-ranked DePauw women, the tournament’s top seed, will host No. 8 seed Hiram at 6 p.m. The Tiger men’s team, seeded fourth, will host No. 5 seed Oberlin at 8 p.m.

While DePauw does not charge admission for regular-season games, post-season tournament games require a ticket (good for both games).

Prices are:

• Adults — $7

• Children (18 and under), NCAC Guest Pass, Student (without NCAC institution ID) — $5

• NCAC Student (with NCAC Institution ID) — Free