DePauw men lose conference opener

The DePauw University men's basketball team scored 16 straight second-half points to wipe out an 11-point Allegheny lead, but the Tigers missed three free throws in the final 1:05 of regulation and four more in overtime and dropped a 69-67 North Coast Athletic Conference decision to visiting Allegheny.

DePauw slipped to 7-5 overall and 0-3 in the NCAC with its fourth loss by four or fewer points his year, while Allegheny improved to 7-5 overall and 1-2 in league play.

The Tigers trailed 57-46 after Allegheny's Kyle Murphy knocked in a three with 9:13 left, but Pat Haggin's layup ended a nearly six-minute scoring drought for DePauw.

Kevin Sullivan hit a pair of threes sandwiching a Connor Rich triple and the Tigers drew even with the Gators, 57-57, with 6:15 remaining.

Barry Flynn's three-point play and jumper capped the 16-0 run and lifted the Tigers to a 67-62 lead at the 3:40 mark.

The margin was still five at 65-60 when Pat Haggin hit one-of-two charity tosses, but Allegheny's Josh Valentic quickly countered with a trey to close the lead to 65-63.

DePauw missed three straight free throws before the Gator's Clark Tritto nailed a pair with 24.7 seconds left to tie the game at 65-65. Rich's three-pointer, following a timeout, from beyond the top of the circle was off the mark forcing DePauw into its first overtime since January 2009 and its first extra-session affair at Neal Fieldhouse since January 2006.

Haggin connected on one-of-two free throws in the opening minute of overtime as did Adam Botts with 1:47 left to give the Tigers a 67-65 lead. Ryan Stanko knotted the score with a jumper at the 1:29 mark and Devone McLeod gave the Gators the lead for good on a layup with 43 seconds left after the guests blocked Flynn's effort at the other end.

After Haggin missed on a three, the Tigers fouled and the Gators failed to connect on the front end of a one-and-one situation. Flynn grabbed the rebound and DePauw later called a timeout with 6.4 seconds remaining. Out of the timeout, Rich got off a contested, off-balance three at the buzzer which hit the back of the rim and bounced off.

Both teams shot exceptionally well in the first half as the Tigers hit 65.2 percent and Allegheny 59.3 percent, but the Gators also buried eight of 13 from beyond the arc for a 40-39 lead at the break.

Flynn paced DePauw with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Rich and Sullivan scored a dozen apiece. Rich also dished out a game-high six assists.

Stanko led Allegheny with 18 points and seven rebounds and 16 of his points came in the game's first 13 minutes. McLeod followed with 16 points and Valentic added 11. McLeod handed out four assists in the win.

DePauw shot 46.6 percent for the game, while Allegheny hit 54.2 percent and knocked down 12 of 22 three-pointers. The Tigers held a 34-23 rebounding lead, but just an 8-6 edge in second-chance points. DePauw hit just six of 15 from the free throw line in the loss.

The Tigers host Hiram at 3 p.m. today, while the Gators travel to Wabash today.