DePauw men win in triple OT

Thursday, February 18, 2016
Tiger Luke Lattner (31) fights for points against two Wabash defenders. (DPU Photo)

The DePauw men's basketball team had a game to remember in a 114-110 triple overtime win against Wabash on Wednesday.

And Luke Lattner had what might have been one of the greatest offensive displays in DePauw history.

The junior led all scorers with 55 points and added 10 rebounds to complete the double-double. But his 55 points and 19 field goals made set a new single game school record, one that was held for nearly 47 years by Tom McCormick when he scored 45 against Ball State in 1969.

The 55 points is a new Neal Fieldhouse record as well as a North Coast Athletic Conference record, dethroning Ohio Wesleyan's Scott Tedder when he scored 50 in 1987.

Lattner was also five points shy of tying the most points scored in Division III this season where he currently sits in third.

And it all added to another chapter of the DePauw-Wabash rivalry, which played its first triple overtime game in the series. DePauw has now won five of the last seven against Wabash and holds a 121-87-1 overall record.

However, Lattner had plenty of help. Cris Burroughscored 21 points, which was a point shy of his career high that he set at Wabash earlier this season. He also pulled down eight rebounds.

Jack VandeMerkt fouled out in the second half but still scored 12 points. He left the game with 2:31 to play and with DePauw ahead 90-83. The Tigers struggled in the ensuing minutes without him on the court as Wabash tied it at 92 with 53 seconds left in regulation. Neither team scored the rest of the way as the two teams entered the first overtime.

DePauw failed to recapture the lead in the first overtime, but Lattner's two free throws with 36 seconds remaining forced the game into a second overtime.

The Tigers held a 105-100 lead with 48 seconds left in the second overtime but a 3-pointer from Jonny Jager and a layup with 14 seconds left from Ben Stachowski forced the game into the third overtime.

Tied at 107 with 1:37 remaining, senior Bradley Feycame up big with a 3-pointer to put the Tigers ahead for good. Wabash had a chance to tie with 14 seconds remaining but a missed jumper and free throws by Lattner sealed the game.

Wabash's Johnny Jager scored 32 points to lead the Little Giants, who also received 19 points from Stachowski.

The teams were near identical from the floor as DePauw shot 51 percent (42-of-83) to Wabash's 50 percent (42-of-84). The Tigers outscored the Little Giants in the paint 56-46, in points off turnovers 20-6 and in fast break points 7-0.

Wabash outrebounded the Tigers 50-42 and put up 15 second chance points to DePauw's 11.

The Tigers improve to 8-16 overall and 4-13 in the NCAC, while Wabash drops to 13-11 and 7-10 in conference play. The Tigers conclude their season Saturday when they travel to Ohio Wesleyan.

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