Despite having five players in double figures, Denison dropped a 73-68 decision to North Coast Athletic Conference newcomer DePauw University on Wednesday in Granville.

The two squads were in a back-and-forth battle for the opening 12 minutes of play.  Trailing 19-18, the Tigers engineered a 10-2 run to take a nine-point lead.  Seniors Brett Tiberi and Larry Farmer scored a three-pointer and a layup, respectively, on back-to-back possessions to trim the deficit to four.  However, DePauw rattled off the final six points of the period as they entered the locker room with a 37-27 advantage.

The Tigers carried the momentum into the second half as they scored four of the first six points of the second frame.  Down by 12, Tiberi drained a three-pointer to shrink the margin to single digits.  The triple sparked a 9-0 Big Red run that closed the gap to 41-38 with 16:26 to play.  Roughly two minutes later, junior Dimonde Hale scored in the lane to make it a two-point game.

DePauw slowly rebuilt its lead, eventually taking a 65-56 advantage with 3:20 on the clock.  Following a 30 second timeout by the Tigers, Denison rattled off seven straight to make it a two-point affair.  Jon Akpapunam opened the run with a bucket in the paint, while Alex Longi split a pair at the charity stripe.  Hale finished off the spurt with back-to-back layups.

With less than a minute to play, DePauw's Sean Haseley and Connor Rich went a combined 6-for-6 from the foul line to ice the Tiger win.

Denison converted 42 percent (24-of-57) from the field and 72 percent (13-of-18) from the free throw line.  DePauw finished 28-of-52 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.  Both squads grabbed 31 rebounds, while DU turned 16 Tiger turnovers into 23 points.  The Big Red also outscored DePauw in the paint 32-26.

Hale led DU with 14 points, while Tiberi finished with 12.  Longi and Akpapunam each chipped in 11 tallies, while freshman Bret Woolard added 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.

Barry Flynn led all players with 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Haseley and Rich added 16 and 13, respectively.

The Big Red falls to 6-10 overall and 3-4 in the NCAC, while the Tigers improve to 11-5 and 5-2 in league action.  Denison returns to action on Saturday when they host Allegheny College at 3 p.m.