Box Score
San Antonio, Texas. - DePauw battled back from a 14-point second half deficit to tie the game with over seven minutes to play, but host Trinity held the Tigers scoreless over the next six minutes on the way to a 66-56 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference win over DePauw.
The loss, the first for DePauw in SCAC play this season, dropped the second-ranked Tigers to 12-2 overall and 7-1 in the SCAC. Trinity improved to 8-6 overall and 4-3 in the SCAC.
DePauw jumped out to an early 8-4 lead on a three-pointer and basket by Mike Howland and Joe Nixon's three-pointer. Trinity scored the next six and never trailed from that point forward.
The hosts led by as many as 10 after Chris Hill's basket with 3:47 left in the first half, but DePauw cut the gap to 30-24 at halftime. Trinity hit 57 percent from the field over the opening 20 minutes and held DePauw to just 32 percent from the floor.
Trinity's 10-2 run in the first four minutes of the second half pushed the lead to 42-28 with 16:13 remaining. The hosts still led 48-37 after Jason Morris scored with 12:23 left.
Over a two-minute stretch, Matt Kleymeyer hit a three-pointer, two free throws and another trey to close the gap to 48-45 with 9:03 left. Morris pushed the Trinity lead back to five with a basket before Nixon hit a three and added a jumper to knot the score at 50-50 with 7:31 remaining.
Trinity scored the next nine points over a six-minute stretch to take a 59-50 advantage with just over a minute to play. Shane Fitts started the run with a basket before Chris Hill nailed a three. Peter Murray hit a jumper and Chad Stoberg hit a pair of free throws to cap the run. DePauw got no closer than seven the rest of the way.
The hosts finished the game by shooting just over 52 percent from the floor, while DePauw shot a season-low 32 percent from the field. Howland led the Tigers with 18, while Jeremy Bettis posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Joe Ringger led the Tigers with 11 rebounds as DePauw held a 38-28 advantage on the boards.
Murray paced Trinity with 13 points, followed by Nate Coelen with 11 and Hill with 10.
DePauw finishes the first half of SCAC play when it hosts Rose-Hulman on Thursday at 8 p.m.
