DePauw University men’s basketball (1-0, 0-0) kicked off their 2014-2015 campaign on Tuesday night with a 79-60 win on the road against Franklin College (0-2, 0-0).
An early 21-4 run by the Tigers gave DePauw the cushion they would need, as they coasted to a 13 point lead at the halftime recess.
Not much would change in the second half, as the Tigers’ lead ballooned to 22 points at its highest point.
Senior Tommy Fernitz led the way for the Tigers, scoring 15 points and securing eight rebounds in the victory. Fernitz’s classmate, Bob Dillon, came alive in the final 20 minutes, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the second half to finish second on the team in scoring.
Along with Fernitz and Dillon, junior Bradley Fey was the only other Tiger to score in double figures, dropping 10 points in 13 minutes off the bench.
Solid bench play was key for the Tigers on Tuesday. On a night when three of their starters scored less than seven points, eight players contributed with points off the bench. The DePauw bench outscored their Franklin counterparts 34-10.
Despite being outworked on the glass, the Tigers held the Grizzlies to just over 30 percent shooting from the field and caused 20 turnovers.
Next up for the Tigers is a visit to Otterbein University for the Smokey Ballenger Tournament. On Friday, DePauw will take on Anderson College at 6 p.m. before turning around and facing the tournament hosts on Saturday.
After that, the Tigers will return home to Neal Fieldhouse for their first home game of the season on Tuesday against Rose Hulman Institute of Technology.