Delaware, Ohio - Fifth-seed DePauw nearly erased a 13-point deficit, but fourth-seed Ohio Wesleyan held off the Tigers for a 74-71 win in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals. DePauw finished its season at 13-13, while the Battling Bishops improved to 15-11 and advanced to the semifinals.

The Tigers jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the opening four minutes, but the Battling Bishops scored six straight to tie the contest. The Battling Bishops' largest lead of the half was at 21-16 before the hosts took a 32-30 lead into the halftime intermission.

Ohio Wesleyan opened the second half with a pair of 3-pointers, two free throws and a bucket to stretch the lead to 42-30. The Battling Bishops extended the margin to a high of 13 at 45-32 after Henry Hinkle's three.

While DePauw closed to within two a couple of times, the Battling Bishops pushed the margin back to seven multiple times with the last coming at 72-65 following Hinkle's layup with 1:49 left.

Reph Stevenson countered with two free throws and Kyle Llllwitz knocked in a trey with 48 seconds remaining to close the gap to 72-70. Hinkle moved the lead to 74-70 with two free throws with 17 seconds left. 

The Tigers missed a 3-pointer but Stevenson grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He hit one-of-two free throws and DePauw fouled Hinkle on the ensuing in-bounds pass. Hinkle missed the front end of a one-and-one and the Tigers rebounded. Following a timeout, DePauw got the ball to Lillwitz but the senior's deep three was short as the buzzer sounded.

Stevenson led the Tigers with 20 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, while Caleb Washington followed with 18 points and four assists. Joe Smith rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points.

Hinkle led Ohio Wesleyan with 28 points and three assists with Isaac Ward chipping in 14 and Phil Wallace 11. Tony Carter grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

The Tigers shot 46.6 percent from the field, but hit just 11-of-25 from the line. Ohio Wesleyan connected on 48.1 percent from the floor and the Tigers held a 43-25 rebounding edge.