TAMPA, Fla. – Junior Cris Burrough (Carmel, Ind.) tallied 14 points to help pace the DePauw University men's basketball team to a 56-43 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in the opening round of the 2016 Tampa Bay Shootout.
With the win the Tigers improve to 5-5 on the season while the Leopards fall to 2-7.
DePauw, which led wire to wire, jumped out to a 9-2 lead to start the contest and held a 19-12 lead with 6:46 remaining in the half after a second-chance basket from junior David Vogel (Bluffton, Ind.). Wentworth scored the next four points – all by way of senior Dan DeVaux (Wethersfield, Conn.) – and cut the gap to 19-16 with 5:14 left in the frame.
DeVaux's jumper which cut the deficit to three would be the last Leopard points of the half as the Tigers closed out the half on an 8-0 run, including netting a pair of three pointers in a 46-second span late in the half. Wentworth was held to 24 percent shooting in the opening half and DePauw scored 10 points off six Leopard turnovers.
Junior Ben Kizel (Short Hills, N.J.) connected on a three on the Leopards' first possession of the second half to make it an eight-point game. After junior Jack VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) hit one of two free throws, junior Jason Ganley (Northbridge, Mass.) hit consecutive baskets, trimming the deficit to five.
Kizel's two free throws with 11:47 remaining made it 31-27 as both teams struggled from the floor, combining to go without a field goal for a span of 4:23. DeVaux hit a pair of threes with both cutting the deficit to five points, however four straight Tiger points made it 44-35 with just under five minutes to play. DeVaux would hit two free throws to make it 44-37 with 4:42 left, however DePauw pulled away with a 12-4 run.
Vogel also scored in double figures for the Tigers as he came off the bench to score 11 points and grab six rebounds VandeMerkt finished with seven points and six rebounds and senior Luke Lattner (Hinsdale, Ill.) had six points and six assists.
DeVaux finished with 16 points while freshman Matt Vartanian (Salem, N.H.) had 10 points (on 4-for-5 shooting) and six rebounds. Ganley and Kizel each finished with five points.
Both teams will play tomorrow against either SUNY-Canton or Drew. Wentworth will play in the third-place game at 1:00 and DePauw will play in the championship game at 3:00.