Unranked DePauw men topple No. 6 North Central 77-64

Sunday, November 17, 2013
DePauw senior Michael Wilkison defends during practice earlier this year. Wilkison was named tournament MVP on Saturday. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- The DePauw men's basketball team completed a weekend sweep at the Chicago Marriott Naperville Tip-Off Tournament as it toppled sixth-ranked host North Central College, 77-64. The Tigers improved to 2-0, while the Cardinals dropped to 1-1.

Trailing 15-13 in the first half, the Tigers rattled off 11 straight points with Michael Wilkison scoring seven during the stretch. DePauw went to the break with a 29-25 lead.

North Central's Vince Kmiec opened the second half with consecutive threes, but DePauw's Connor Rich and Adam Botts countered with back-to-back treys that gave the Tigers the lead for good.

Kmiec scored on a layup, but Botts nailed two straight threes to push the lead to 43-33.

North Central trimmed the lead to as little as three, but DePauw started pulling away and led by as many as 17.

DePauw shot 55.6 percent from the floor to North Central's 43.1 percent and the Tigers knocked down 10 of 19 from three-point range.

Wilkison paced DePauw with 24 points and was named the tournament's most valuable player, while Botts added 16. Pat Haggin and Mark Johnson each added 11. Botts and Haggin also earned spots on the all-tournament team.

Wilkison also led the way with a career-best eight rebounds as the Tigers held a 31-27 edge on the boards. Wilkison and Botts each hit four three-pointers.

Kmiec led North Central with 17 points while Jack Burchett grabbed seven rebounds.

The win also snapped North Central's 20-game home court win streak.

DePauw returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 23, when it hosts Oberlin at 3 p.m. in the North Coast Athletic Conference opener.

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