Granville, Ohio- The 18th-ranked DePauw men's basketball team opened North Coast Athletic Conference action Wednesday night at Denison. Trailing by as much as 13, the Tigers battled back and had a chance to win it in the closing seconds, but came up short, falling to the Big Red by a final score of 67-65.

With the loss, the Tigers dropped to 4-1 overall and 0-1 in the NCAC, while Denison improved to 5-1 on the year and 1-0 in NCAC play.

DePauw jumped out to a 4-0 lead to start the contest on a pair of free-throws from Tommy Fernitz and a layup from Bob Dillon. The Big Red quickly answered, taking a lead and holding it for the remainder of the half.

Connor Rich nailed a pair of threes, including a step-back three with two seconds remaining, to cut Denison's lead to one. Rich paced all scorers with 11 first-half points, while Fernitz added nine.

Neither squad had particularly good shooting half as DePauw shot 35.7 percent from the floor and 3-for-11 from three, while the Big Red shot 37.9 percent from the floor and just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc.

Leading 29-28, Denison extended their lead to 13 with 14:07 remaining in the contest. The Tigers went on a mini 11-5 run to shrink the deficit to seven, but the Big Red responded with a run of their own, putting the lead back at 13 with 9:46 on the clock.

Trailing by 13, DePauw finally found some offensive rhythm as they began to cut into the Denison lead. The Tigers closed the contest on a 21-10 run over the final nine minutes.

With 24 seconds left, Fernitz drew a foul and headed to the line with a chance to tie the game at 64. Fernitz missed on his first attempt, but hit his second, cutting the lead to just one. DePauw quickly fouled on the ensuing inbound pass, sending the Big Red to the free-throw line.

Denison's David Meurer made both his attempts, extending the lead to three. Luke Lattner's layup with seven seconds remaining drew the Tigers back to a one point deficit. Again, DePauw fouled, sending the Big Red back to the line.

Briggs King went 1-for-2 from the line, giving Denison a two-point lead with six seconds left.

Frank Patton III caught the inbound pass and drove the length of the floor. With just under two seconds left he tossed an alley-oop pass towards Fernitz. The pass led Fernitz about a foot too far, as he caught the pass, but was unable to sink the tying basket.

The Tigers were led by Fernitz who had a game-high 21 points and added nine rebounds, while Rich totaled 17 points off the bench. Denison was led by Meurer's 20 points, while King and Brad Woolard added 13 and 10 points respectively.

Struggles at the free-throw line plagued DePauw as they went just 15-for-25 (60%) in the contest. The Tigers shot 40 percent (22-for-55) from the field and 26.1 percent (6-for-23) from three. DePauw outrebounded the Big Red 37-32, but lost the turnover battle 10-9.

Another NCAC foe awaits, as DePauw returns to Neal Fieldhouse Saturday, December 6, when they host 10th-ranked Wooster starting at 3:00 p.m.