DePauw men draw Pirates in tourney

GREENCASTLE -- On Friday, the DePauw University men's basketball better be ready to dance.

DPU lost to Trinity in the semifinals of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament last week, but managed to still earn an at-large bid into the 2006-07 NCAA Division III Tournament.

The Tigers are 22-5 and will face Whitworth College in the first round of postseason action.

DePauw will travel to Washington University-St. Louis for competition. Washington will face Fontbonne in Friday's other game.

Whitworth is 23-3 this year and earned automatic qualification into the tournament after winning the Northwest Conference. Whitworth is 5-0 in neutral court games this season.

The Pirates have won six of their last eight games and were 10-0 in non-conference action this season.

James Jones leads Whitworth in scoring with an average of 16.1 points per game, having scored 305 points in 19 contests. In addition, Ryan Symes averages 15 points per game while Kevin Hasenfus averages 11.8 and Jon Young averages 11.6. Bryan Williams also contributes 11 points per game, giving the Pirates five players averaging double figures.

Hasenfus is the team's leading rebounder with 159 boards in 25 games for an average of 6.4 per game.

Williams leads the team in assists, dishing out 7.3 per game while he and Jones both average 1.6 steals per contest.

As a team, Whitworth is scoring 80.3 points per game while allowing opponents only 65.5 points per game. Whitworth has scored 2,009 points this season and is outscoring opponents, 1,039-874 in the second half of games this season.

In neutral court games this season, the Tigers are 3-2. DePauw was 10-3 in non-conference games this year.

Austin Brown leads the team in scoring with an average of 14.8 points per game, having scored 400 points in 27 games.

Stephen Schott also averages 11.7 points per game while Mike Moore contributes 11 points and Reid Sakel averages 10.6. Matt McDonald also averages 9.1 points per contest.

Schott leads the team on the glass with an average of 7.7 boards per contest. In addition, Moore tops the team in assists at 146 (5.4 per game) while also averaging just over one steal per contest.

The Tigers have outscored opponents this year by 181 points. DPU is averaging 75.1 points per game while giving up 68.4. DePauw is also shooting 48 percent from the field while limiting opponents to just 44 percent.

The Tigers are making their second straight tournament appearance after winning the SCAC Tournament last year. This year is DePauw's 12th Division III appearance.

The Tigers and Pirates did not play any common teams this season.

Washington is 20-4 and will face a 16-11 Fontbonne team in the second game Friday.

The Tigers and Pirates will square off at 7 p.m. Friday while the second game is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Tickets are $3 for students with identification and $6 for adults each night.