Despite being up at halftime, DePauw lost to No. 17 ranked College of Wooster 63-70 in the first round of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) tournament. Wooster outscored 40-31 in the second half and improves to 21-5 on the year. The Tigers finish the season with a record of 11-15.
“We played up to our competition, but unfortunately down to it as well,” senior point guard Mason Hankins said. “Lessons were learned tonight for players returning next season, and to the real world for us who ended our careers tonight.”
With 2:43 left in the first half, DePauw led by as much as seven points. Wooster was then able to chip away at the Tigers’ lead, while carrying that momentum into the ensuing half.
The Fighting Scots were able to pull away by dominating the paint. As a team, they collected 40 points down low, to go along with 39 team rebounds.
“This season we had consistent trouble keeping teams off the offensive glass. That has ultimately been our downfall on numerous occasions,” junior forward Pete Feely said.
First-year Josh Hall (16), senior David Vogel (15) and senior Jack VandeMerkt (13) all ended up with double digit points for the Tigers.
Wooster has dominated the NCAC tournament the past 11 seasons, winning seven NCAC titles within that span.
It is the second consecutive season the Tigers have made the tournament and lost in the first round.
First-year point guard Nick Felke said the team needs to focus on working together. “Moving forward, we need to improve together as a team. It is not one guy’s job to carry the entire load,” Felke said. “It all starts in the spring in preparation for next season.”
