The DePauw men’s basketball team lost a tough game at home in double overtime to The College of Wooster, 111-104. The loss has now extended the team’s losing streak to four games.
At the end of the second overtime, DePauw was down 107-104 with less than a minute left and a chance to tie up the game, but they were without their leading scorer, senior Luke Lattner, who had fouled out. First-year Ethan Jarrett launched a three-point attempt but missed, and Wooster got the rebound and made their free throws to secure the victory.
Lattner led the way for the Tigers with an impressive performance, scoring 43 points from ten field goals and going 21-of-26 from the charity stripe. Lattner’s scoring total was tied for the fourth highest single game point total in school history, and his 21 free throw makes and 26 free throw attempts were both school records.
Lattner commented on how his teammates were able to get him the ball in positions that allowed him to excel offensively.
“My teammates were able to get me the ball in spots where I like to drive the basketball and I was able to create some contact and get to the free throw line,” said Lattner. “I missed a couple more free throws than I would have liked but that’s alright. We fought all game long.”
Lattner was one of five Tigers to score in double digits. Senior Nate Jahn had 10 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, while junior Jack VandeMerkt had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jarrett came off the bench and scored 13 points while sophomore James Clarke added 12.
VandeMerkt was happy with how the offense executed in comparison to previous games against Wooster. However, he thought the defense allowed the Fighting Scots’ offense to be too effective.
“In the past we’ve struggled to score points against Wooster so our ability to execute on offense and match their scoring was promising,” said VandeMerkt, “However, we knew going into the game we couldn’t let them get going in transition, and we let them get some easy buckets in the first half to get going.”
Both teams’ shooting numbers were nearly identical from the floor and the free throw line. DePauw shot 46 percent compared to Wooster’s 45 percent. Each team had 41 free throw attempts, with the Tigers making 32 of them and Wooster making 34.
Freshman Reece Dupler and senior Dan Fannelly led the Fighting Scots, scoring 25 points each. Wooster out-rebounded DePauw, 44-41, and scored 62 points in the paint compared to the Tigers’ 38.
Senior point guard Nate Jahn is optimistic about the team going forward. “We played hard and together,” said Jahn. “ We played well enough to beat Wooster, but we couldn’t come up with a few loose balls down the stretch. We also could have rebounded and defended a little bit better towards the end, but I’m proud of the way we battled.”
The Tigers moved to 9-10 on the season and 5-7 in NCAC play. They will travel to Allegheny College for their next game on Friday, Feb. 3.
