DePauw forces OT, falls in NCAC Men's Basketball Tournament at Wooster

WOOSTER, Ohio - DePauw rallied from a 10-point deficit to force overtime in its North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal game at Wooster, but the host Fighting Scots prevailed in the extra session, 83-80. The Tigers finished their season at 12-14, while Wooster advanced to Friday’s semifinal and is now 17-9.

The hosts led, 68-58, with five minutes left before Caleb Washington knocked in a 3-pointer and Ronald Johnson converted a Wooster turnover off Grant Niego’s steal into a bucket. The Scots responded with a pair of free throws before DePauw’s Grant Gohmann and Niego each hit two charity tosses and Johnson nailed a jumper that closed the Wooster lead to 70-69 with 1:38 left.

Wooster failed to connect on the front end of a one-and-one and the Tigers appeared to take the lead when goaltending was called on Reph Stevenson’s layup. However, following a video review, the call was reversed and Wooster awarded the ball.

Nick Everett gave the Scots a 72-69 lead with 48 seconds left before Niego made one of two free throws with 36 seconds remaining. Stevenson forced a steal and pounced on the loose ball and the Tigers took a timeout with seven seconds left. Niego drove the lane and drew a foul and proceeded to hit both free throws with three seconds remaining. The Scots took a timeout, but couldn’t convert and the teams headed to overtime.

The teams exchanged baskets to start the overtime before Wooster scored seven straight to take an 81-74 lead with 10 seconds left as DePauw came up empty on six straight possessions.

Niego led DePauw with 21 points, while Washington added 20 and Stevenson 18. Stevenson and Washington had seven rebounds each, while Sam Jacobs and Johnson each dished out four assists.

Everett led Wooster with 26 points, while Ashton Price followed with 12, Jaiden Cox-Holloway 11 and Isaac Roeder 10. Everett totaled eight rebounds and Jamir Billings had 10 assists.

DePauw shot 42.2 percent from the floor to Wooster’s 54.2 percent and the Tigers held a narrow 32-31 edge on the boards. DePauw committed 14 turnovers to Wooster’s 17.