EVANSVILLE -- On Saturday, the DePauw University men's basketball team officially opened the 2005-06 campaign with a 76-67 exhibition loss to the Evansville Purple Aces at Roberts Stadium

EVANSVILLE -- On Saturday, the DePauw University men's basketball team officially opened the 2005-06 campaign with a 76-67 exhibition loss to the Evansville Purple Aces at Roberts Stadium.

DePauw had a 45-36 lead at halftime, thanks to 17 points from Reid Sakel, before the Purple Aces made the comeback.

The Tigers knocked down 12-of-20 three-pointers in the first half and extended their lead to as many as 10 at 48-38, before Evansville rattled off 17 straight points.

DePauw closed to within two in the closing minutes, but the Aces knocked down several key free throws to preserve the win.

Sakel finished with a game-high 22 points, while Brian Oilar had 12 along with a team-high nine rebounds. Bradley Strickland led the Purple Aces with 20 points and 12 boards with jason Holsinger adding 13 points and Craig Phifer tallying 10.

DePauw shot 32.4 percent from the floor, but drilled 15 from beyong the arc. Evansville connected on 41.9 percent from the floor and had a 46-43 edge on the glass.

The Tigers open the regular season on Nov. 18, when they face Ohio Northern in Albion's tipoff tournament.

At Evansville

DePauw 45 22 -- 67

Evansville 36 40 -- 76

DePauw -- Schott 3-5 0-0 6, Oilar 5-11 0-0 12, Stewart 3-13 0-0 9, Moore 1-5 2-2 5, Sakel 7-14 2-2 22, Brown 0-7 3-5 3, King 0-0 0-0 0, Stone 3-8 0-0 9, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Crouch 0-0 0-0 0, Dunn 0-0 0-0 0, McDonald 0-5 1-2 1. Totals 22-68 FG, 8-11 FT, 67 TP.

Evansville -- Webster 2-6 2-3 7, Strickland 9-15 2-4 20, Anslinger 1-6 2-2 5, Ely 1-1 0-0 2, Holsinger 4-11 3-4 13, Stalbergs 0-2 2-2 2, Moorow 0-0 0-0 0, Gomez 2-5 0-0 6, Welch 0-1 0-0 0, Blakey 1-3 2-2 5, Phifer 4-6 0-2 10, Petty 2-6 2-2 6. Totals 26-62 FG, 15-21 FT, 76 TP.

3-pt. FG -- DPU 15-37 (Sakel 6-10), E 9-22 (Phifer 2-2). Rebounds -- DPU 43 (Oilar 9), E 46 (Phifer 10). Blocks -- DPU 0, E 3 (Strickland 3). Assists -- DPU 14 (Moore 4), E 13 (Stalbergs 3). Steals -- DPU 3 (Stewart, Sakel, Brown), E 6 (Webster 2). Total Fouls -- DPU 21, E 16. Fouled Out -- None.

Next Game -- The Tigers face Ohio Northern in the first round of the Albion Tipoff Tournament on Nov. 18.