Delaware, Ohio – The DePauw men's basketball team finished its season Saturday on the road with an 81-57 defeat to Ohio Wesleyan.

Playing without leading scorer Luke Lattner, the Tigers struggled to keep up with the high octane offense of Ohio Wesleyan, who, to DePauw's credit, did not pull away until the second half. The Battling Bishops led 35-28 at the half and only extended that lead in the final 20 minutes.

Jack VandeMerkt led the Tigers with a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds. Bradley Fey and John Starkey followed with eight points each.

Leading Ohio Wesleyan was Matt Jeske, who scored 15 points, grabbed eight rebounds and added six assists.

The Tigers finish the season at 8-17 overall and 4-14 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Ohio Wesleyan improves to 22-3 overall and 15-3 in the conference as they prepare for the NCAC Tournament.

DePauw shot 33 percent from the floor (17-of-52), while Ohio Wesleyan sat at 40 percent (27-of-68). Ohio Wesleyan shot 15-of-37 (41 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Tigers only connected on 2-of-21 shots (10 percent).

DePauw fought its way to the charity stripe 33 times, making 20 conversions (61 percent). Ohio Wesleyan was just 12-of-18 (67 percent) from the line. The Battling Bishops also won the battle of the boards 46-38.

Ohio Wesleyan's biggest lead was 28 with 4:25 remaining of the game, while DePauw's biggest lead came was at three, three minutes into the game.