Delaware, Ohio - For the second consecutive year, DePauw traveled to Ohio Wesleyan for a quarterfinal matchup in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament and for the second straight season the Tigers collected a road win and advanced to the semifinals following a 78-69 win over the Battling Bishops. DePauw improved to 18-8 and will face Wabash in a 5:30 p.m. semifinal contest at the College of Wooster on Friday, Feb. 24. Ohio Wesleyan finished its season at 16-10.

Ohio Wesleyan grabbed a 9-2 lead on three straight 3-pointers and led by as many as eight at 12-4. DePauw gained its first lead of the contest at 17-16 after Elijah Hales made two free throws with 12:25 left in the half. The Tigers held their biggest lead of the half at 26-23 following Grant Niego's 3-pointer at the 6:44 mark. The Battling Bishops rattled off six straight to take a 3-point advantage. Ryan Jacobson's 3-pointer at the buzzer evened the score at 38-38.

The Tigers took that momentum into the second half as Nolan Niego hit a 3-pointer and Sam Jacobs scored on a fast break layup before Grant Niego and Nolan Niego buried treys to give DePauw a 49-38 lead with 16:51 left.

DePauw led by as many as 14 on a couple of occasions, but a 16-5 Ohio Wesleyan stretch closed the gap to 63-60 with 7:25 remaining. Hales ended the run with a three and Camden Brown followed with a bucket to extend the margin back to eight. 

The Battling Bishops were within five on a couple of occasions with the last coming at 74-69 after David Rice's basket with 2:07 left. Those would be the host's final points as they went 0-for-4 from the field with one turnover the rest of the way, while the Tigers hit four free throws down the stretch.

Hales led four DePauw double-figure scorers with 19, while Grant Niego followed with 12, Nolan Niego 11 and Sam Jacobs 10. Jacobson grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and Hales dished out five assists.

Jack Clement paced Ohio Wesleyan with 31 points and four assists with Henry Hinkle adding 16 and  Rice 12 along with a team-high seven rebounds. 

DePauw shot 50.7 percent from the field and hit 10-of-15 from 3-point range, while the Battling Bishops shot 43.8 percent and were 8-of-27 from beyond the arc. The Tigers outrebouded Ohio Wesleyan 36-32.

NOTES

• DePauw improved its all-time NCAC Tournament record to 7-8 including 3-0 against Ohio Wesleyan and 5-5 in the first round.
• The Tigers are making their second straight semifinal appearance and fifth overall.
• DePauw and Wabash are meeting for the second time in the NCAC Tournament with the last coming in 2014 with DePauw winning a home quarterfinal game, 73-59. The also met in the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference semifinals in 1993 with Wabash winning, 66-62.
• The Tigers are 1-3 in NCAC semifinal games with the lone win coming at Ohio Wesleyan by a 69-65 score in 2015. DePauw topped Wooster, 69-56, the next evening for their first NCAC Tournament title.
• DePauw leads the series with Wabash 129-94-1. Friday marks the 225th meeting between the two schools and the first on a neural floor.