DePauw handles Pirates, 76-51

 

Box score and play-by-play

 

GREENCASTLE, IND. - The Tigers capped off a perfect weekend with a convincing 76-51 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference win over visiting Southwestern at the Neal Fieldhouse.

DePauw notched its second straight win and improved to 10-4 overall and 5-3 in the SCAC. The Pirates fell to 6-7 overall and 2-5 in the conference. 

 

Junior forward Joe Nixon led all scorers with 27 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes of action as he hit eight of 13 from the floor and nailed three of his five three-point attempts.

The Tigers trailed 2-0, but that was the only time they would as DePauw broke open a close game with a late first-half run. DePauw led 24-18 after Southwestern's Justin Westmoreland hit the second of two free throws with 5:45 left in the half.

 

Nixon then took over by scoring the game's next seven points and the Tigers' final nine of the half as DePauw finished the half with a 9-1 run and a 33-19 halftime lead.

 

Sophomore Joe Ringger totaled 12 points against Southwestern and was perfect from the field in four attempts to improve his team-leading field goal percentage to 62.0 percent. (photo: Marilyn Culler)

After the Pirates got back to within 10 at 35-25, the Tigers scored 12 straight over a three-minute stretch to push the margin to 22 at 47-25 with 14:58. Four different players contributed points during that stretch. 

The Tigers' lead never dipped below 20 points from that point forward and reached a high of 31 on a couple of occasions.

 

In addition to Nixon's 27, Joe Ringger added 12. The Tigers shot 53.5 percent form the floor and held a 32-21 rebounding advantage. Westmoreland and Kyle Ellisor paced Southwestern with eight apiece.

 

The Tigers travel to Terre Haute on Thursday for an 8 p.m. showdown with Rose-Hulman in the final game of the first half of SCAC double round-robin play.

 

NOTES: The Tigers have won all five games at the Neal Fieldhouse and are 199-36 (.847) in their 19 seasons in the building ... DePauw is 19-3 in home SCAC games ... Nixon's 27 points moved him into 23rd place on the Tigers' all-time scoring list with 873 points. He needs 20 to move ahead of Dan Falotico (1984-88) ... The Tigers' 5-3 record in SCAC play places them in a tie for third with Rose-Hulman.