Men’s Basketball Falls in Close Battle, 78-73

GREENCASTLE, IN – After five ties and four lead changes, Wittenberg's men's basketball team fell in a close road battle, 78-73, to DePauw Wednesday night, Feb. 5, in a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) matchup at Neal Fieldhouse.

A back-and-forth game from the start, both teams were stuck on 21 at the 8:07 mark of the first half before DePauw went on a 15-11 run to take a 36-32 lead at the intermission. 

With just over 17 minutes remaining in half No. 2, DePauw enjoyed its largest lead in the game of 10 at 47-37. But behind some tough defense, pesky Wittenberg climbed back into the game and tied things at 47-all at the 13:16 mark on a jump shot by Cameron Harrison (Eaton, OH / National Trail).

DePauw answered with a 10-4 run to gain the 57-51 edge and would never relinquish the lead, even though Witt would challenge it many times before it could close the door. All five starters for DePauw scored in double digits in the close win. It was the second straight win for DePauw, which improves to 13-10 overall and 8-5 NCAC. Wittenberg drops to 8-13 overall and 4-8 in conference play.

Eddie Brown (Lewis Center, OH / Olentangy Orange) led the team in points and in rebounds with 21 and nine, respectively. He also had two assists. Harrison added 17 points and three steals on the night. 

The Tigers were 25-for-52 (48.1%) from the field, six-for-17 (35.3%) from three-point range and 17-for-21 (81%) from the free-throw line. DePauw shot 26-for-51 (51%) from the field, six-for-13 (46.2%) from three-point land and 20-for-25 (80%) from the charity stripe. Other stats were also close, with DePauw getting 27 rebounds to Witt's 23 and it also led in assists 14-11. Wittenberg had five steals to DePauw's four. Each team had seven turnovers and 30 points in the paint. 

Next up, Wittenberg will travel to Denison on Saturday, Feb. 8, for a 2 p.m. game.