Westerville, Ohio- The Tigers men's basketball team defeated Anderson in the opening match of the Smokey Ballenger Tournament hosted by Otterbein University. DePauw dominated wire-to-wire, knocking off the Ravens by a final score of 71-52.

With the win, the Tigers improved to 2-0 on the year, while Anderson fell to 0-2.

DePauw got off to a quick start, opening the contest on a 15-8 run over the first 11 minutes. Seven Tigers scored in the first half, paced by Tommy Fernitz with nine and Luke Lattner with eight.

Hot shooting helped DePauw grow their lead to as much as 16 before going into the locker room with a 34-18 advantage. The Tigers shot 58.3 percent from the floor including a 50.0 percent mark from three-point land, while holding Anderson to just 27.6 percent shooting in the half.

Fernitz continued to dominate in the second half, going 6-6 from the floor, while Adam Botts tallied 11 points. DePauw's largest lead was 27, helped by a 16-6 run to start the half.

Three Tigers finished in double-digit scoring, paced by Fernitz, who earned his first double-double of the season, went 10-11 from the floor, finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Botts finished with 11 points and two assists, while Lattner had 10 points and three assists.

Bob Dillon had a game-high six assists with five rebounds, Connor Rich had eight points off the bench, going 2-3 from beyond the arc.

Anderson was paced by Max Mollaun who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Justin Jordan had 10 points and three steals.

The Tigers assisted on 18 of their 29 field goals and held a 35-33 edge on rebounds. Both teams committed 17 turnovers, but it was DePauw who held the advantage on points off turnovers, outscoring the Ravens 27-7.

DePauw plays in tomorrow night's championship game starting at 8 p.m. against the winner of Otterbein vs. Houghton.