DePauw gets off snide in NCAC play with Wittenberg win

After a run of poor results, the DePauw men’s basketball team found a way to win after back-to-back losses to start the conference season with the Tigers winning their contest against Wittenberg in a heated game ending 73-60.

This win for the Tigers means head coach Rusty Loyd and the guys get their first win of conference play.

Though the Tigers entered this matchup winless after back-to-back away losses against Wabash 62-61 and 73-71 vs Kenyon, coach Loyd knew what his team needed to do entering this game at home in front of the crowd and fans.

“We knew this was an important game for our season,” Lloyd said. “We started off the conference 0-2; I put on the board before the game that our backs are against the wall a little bit, and we got to come out fighting and play with toughness and composure, and I thought we really did that.”

The first half for the Tigers ended really tight, with a narrow lead of 36-30.

After the first half, coach Loyd spoke about how he felt the defense kept the game within touching distance.

“At halftime we felt good about where we were. We’ve really been emphasizing defense and really telling ourselves we’re going win games because of our defensive effort not necessarily trying to outscore people but really get defensive stops,” Lloyd said. “We held them to 30 points, and in the second half, if we can hold our opponents with 70 points, we feel like we have a great chance of winning. I thought two great halves defensively, and then I thought we got some timely play.”

After Wittenberg took a 59-58 lead with five minutes to play, DePauw outscored its opponents 16-1 to finish the game, Cooper Horn scoring six points early to take the Tigers home.

Apart from highlighting the mindset going into the second half and the positives of the overall game, Coach Loyd also gave a couple of shoutouts to some key players already established in the program, as well as freshmen making an impact early on.

“Cooper Horn played really well off the bench as a freshman. Cam Brown had a double-double force tonight with 16 points and 10 rebounds,” Lloyd said. “I thought those two guys were great and Grant Niego has kind of been our heart and soul all season. He’s got the ball in his hands a lot, making a lot of decisions, and I thought he was great for us tonight.”

Niego also spoke about his impact on the game in leading with 17 points and how he doesn’t take his leadership as an experienced senior for granted.

“Overall, it feels great, honestly, to be able to lead a group of guys like this high-level group of guys that I’m leading,” Niego said. “I don’t take it for granted. I was in the position as a freshman to look up to seniors, and I’m kind of trying to put myself in the position to help those freshmen and those younger guys because we have so many of them. So, we’re just kind of helping them along the way, and as we play each game, they learn so much each game, so from there, we grow as a group.”

The DePauw Tiger will look to continue this newfound run of form when the play at home again at Neal Fieldhouse on Sunday, Dec. 10 at 1 p.m.

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