Junior guard Henry Hinkle and sophomore guard Isaac Ward scored 8 points apiece during the final 4-plus minutes to help the Ohio Wesleyan men’s basketball team rally for a 66-61 North Coast Athletic Conference win over DePauw on Wednesday at Branch Rickey Arena.

DePauw had taken a 51-46 lead on a jumper by Camden Brown with 5:20 left in regulation time.

Ward sank a pair of free throws with 4:03 left and Hinkle hit a pair of free throws at the 3:07 mark before 2 more Hinkle free throws put Ohio Wesleyan ahead, 52-51, with 2:25 to go. Sophomore wing Jessee Battle followed with a 3-pointer to close out a 9-0 Ohio Wesleyan run.

Brown sank a pair of free throws to bring the visitors within 55-53, but Ward followed with a pair of 3-pointers for a 61-55 Bishop lead with 1:02 remaining. Ohio Wesleyan sealed the game at the free throw line, with Hinkle hitting a pair of free throws with :31 to go, junior wing David Rice splitting a pair of free throws with :12 remaining, and Hinkle hitting 2 more from the line with :02 to play as the Bishops withstood a pair of buckets from Sam Jacobs down the stretch.

Hoops were hard to come by through much of the first half. DePauw’s Kyle Lillwitz hit a 3-pointer to break a 12-12 tie midway through the half, and the Tigers later went on a 9-0 run that included 3 baskets by Jacobs.

Ohio Wesleyan closed out the half with an 11-2 run behind 7 straight points by Ward, and the second half was back-and-forth until a 6-0 burst gave the Tigers the 51-46 lead.

Ward led the Bishops with 19 points, while Hinkle finished with 15 points and a team-best 3 assists. Senior post Tony Carter had 11 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, and Rice scored 10 points.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Senior guard Kasey Schipfer scored 8 points as Ohio Wesleyan pared a 9-point fourth-quarter deficit to a single point, but DePauw withstood the Bishop comeback and went on to a 74-67 North Coast Athletic Conference win on Wednesday in Greencastle, Ind.

DePauw’s Riley Mont sank a 3-pointer during the final seconds of the third quarter to give the Tigers a 58-49 lead heading into the fourth period.

Schipfer opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a lay-in, and after hoops by senior guard Lauren Denison and sophomore guard Graci Semptimphelter, it was Schipfer with 6 straight points before a bucket by freshman post Macy Miller brought the Bishops within 64-63 with 3:54 left in regualtion time.

The Tigers countered by scoring the next 8 points, all coming at the free throw line, to build a 72-63 lead with :26 to go.

Ohio Wesleyan had taken a 27-18 lead on a jumper by junior post Alyssa Griner, but DePauw scored the next 9 points, getting 3-pointers from Ava Hassel and Tori Allen along the way, to even the game at 27.

After 2 more buckets by Griner gave the lead back to Ohio Wesleyan, the Tigers closed out the first half with a 7-0 run, with all 7 points coming from the free throw line, for a 34-31 lead at the break, and DePauw would hold the lead throughout the third period, with Mont’s 3-pointer in the final seconds giving the Tigers their biggest lead of the contest.

Schipfer led the Bishops with 24 points. Miller posted a double-double, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds, junior post Karlee Ross added 10 points, and senior point guard Elizabeth Homan head a team-high 6 assists.