Delaware, Ohio- The DePauw men's basketball team erased a nine-point deficit over the final 7:19 to defeat top-seed Ohio Wesleyan 69-65, in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal, advancing to tomorrow night's championship game against Wooster.

The Tigers improved to 18-9 overall, while the Battling Bishops finished the regular season with a 22-5 mark.

Ohio Wesleyan jumped out to a 6-0 lead early in the first half on back-to-back threes from Claude Gray and Matt Jeske. DePauw answered with an 8-0 run led by four points from Tommy Fernitz.

Trailing 19-18 at the 11:32 mark, the Bishops used an 8-0 run over the span of one minute to take a 26-19 lead. Ohio Wesleyan would hold the lead for the remainder of the half, closing the first stanza with a 43-35 lead.

Nate Axelrod and Jeske paced the Bishops with 11 points each, while Ben Simpson added 10 points. Ohio Wesleyan fired 18 threes in the half hitting nine of them and shooting 46.9 percent (15-of-32) from the field.

Fernitz led all scorers with 13 first-half points, hitting 7-of-8 free-throws and grabbing five rebounds. The Tigers went 12-for-29 (41.4%) from the floor, but just 3-of-10 from three.

In the second-half, DePauw scored the first five points, cutting the deficit to three on a pair of layups from Frank Patton III and a Michael Onuorah free-throw. The Tigers would continue to cut into the lead, but the Bishops would use the three-point ball to stay in front.

From the 15:51 mark to 9:46, Ohio Wesleyan only scored on threes, but were able to stretch their advantage to 57-48. Will Orr hit consecutive long balls to lead the three barrage.

Down 59-50, DePauw began to claw back as Bob Dillon hit a three followed by a Patton steal and layup. Following a Bishops' turnover Dillon and Fernitz tallied layups, while Patton capped the 12-0 run with a three-point play at the 2:59 mark.

Ohio Wesleyan used four-straight free-throws to retake a 63-62 lead with just 1:42 remaining. Dillon grabbed a defensive rebound with 1:08 on the clock and Fernitz capitalized on the Tigers' possession, hitting a layup with 46 seconds.

Axelrod had his layup blocked by Patton with 35 seconds, forcing the Bishops to foul. Luke Lattner went to the line and hit a pair of free-throws, putting the Tigers up 66-63. Gray pulled Ohio Wesleyan to within one on his layup with 18 seconds remaining.

Lattner was again fouled on the inbounds play, sending the sophomore to the line where he nailed both shots. With five seconds left, Nick Felhaber's three went wide and Dillon grabbed the loose rebound.

Dillon was fouled, sending him to the line with a chance to ice the victory. The senior missed his first attempt, but calmly sank his second shot, sending the Tigers to the NCAC Championship game.

DePauw shot 41.8 percent (23-of-55) from the floor, including a 5-of-17 (29.4%) mark from three. Strong free-throw shooting was key in the Tigers' victory as they went 18-for-25 (72.0%) from the charity stripe. Fernitz had a game-high 22 points with 11 rebounds, while Dillon added 15 points, Patton netted 14 points and Lattner finished with 11.

Ohio Wesleyan was led by Jeske with 16 points and Simpson with 14 points. Orr and Axelrod each added 11 points in the loss. The Bishops shot 36.1 percent (13-of-36) from three, but went just 4-of-18 (22.2%) in the second-half.

The victory was a historical one for DePauw head coach Bill Fenlon. Fenlon now has 500 career victories, spanning his 30-year coaching career, including 23 seasons at the helm of the Tigers. In his 23 years at DePauw, Fenlon has compiled a 393-212 overall record.

DePauw will take on Wooster tomorrow, starting at 7:00 p.m. in Delaware, Ohio. The Tigers are looking to capture their first NCAC Title and earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Championship.