Trinity was on fire early, hitting six three-pointers in the first six minutes to take an 18-10 lead that eventually grew to as much as 16 at 37-21. DePauw closed the gap to 39-29 at the intermissions.
The visiting Tigers pushed the lead to 14 in the first five minutes of the second half, but DePauw quickly closed the margin to single digits on three straight buckets by Matt McDonald.
Trinity still led 55-52 with just under nine minutes to play before Todd Capes and Alex Stewart scored on layups and Stewart knocked down a three to give the hosts a 59-55 advantage. Ross Burt countered with a basket, but Stewart hit another three, Brian Oilar added a free throw and McDonald scored on a jumper to make it 65-57 with 3:34 remaining.
Andy Bates hit a three-pointer off the glass to close the gap to 66-63, but Stewart nailed a trey with 1:12 left to extend the lead to six.
McDonald led DePauw with a career-high 19 including 17 in the second half, while Stewart followed with 16, all in the second half. Capes finished with 10 in the win. Mitch Walker paced Trinity with 15, all on three-pointers, while James Lake and Brandon York each scored 12.
DePauw outrebounded Trinity 37-28 with Stephen Schott leading the way with 11. Jay Riola led Trinity with seven boards. Mike Moore led DePauw with seven assists and Burt totaled four for Trinity.
DePauw shot 50 percent for the game including 54 percent in the second half, while Trinity connected on 38 percent for the contest and just under 28 percent in the second half.
The Tigers host Hendrix on Friday, February 3, at 8 p.m., while Trinity travels to Southwestern the same evening.
Trinity (Texas) vs DePauw University 1/29/06 Noon at Neal Fieldhouse; Greencastle, Indiana At Neal Fieldhouse; Greencastle, Indiana DEPAUW UNIVERSITY 70, TRINITY (TEXAS) 64 TRINITY (TEXAS) (14-5, 7-2 SCAC) Mitch Walker 5-9 0-0 15; Brandon York 5-9 0-1 12; James Lake 4-7 2-2 12; Ross Burt 4-11 0-0 9; Andy Bates 3-15 2-2 9; Jay Riola 2-5 1-4 7; Mike Gilb 0-2 0-0 0; Casey Hill 0-1 0-0 0; Barrett Koch 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-60 5-9 64. DEPAUW UNIVERSITY (8-11, 4-5 SCAC) Matt McDonald 8-10 3-3 19; Alex Stewart 4-7 5-6 16; Todd Capes 4-7 1-1 10; Mike Moore 3-8 0-0 9; Austin Brown 1-3 3-5 5; Brian Oilar 2-4 1-2 5; Stephen Schott 2-7 0-0 4; Reid Sakel 1-1 0-0 2; Dan Gifford 0-1 0-0 0; Ryan Werntz 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-50 13-17 70. Trinity (Texas)............... 39 25 - 64 DePauw University............. 29 41 - 70 3-point goals-Trinity (Texas) 13-34 (Mitch Walker 5-8; Jay Riola 2-3; James Lake 2-5; Brandon York 2-3; Ross Burt 1-6; Andy Bates 1-8; Casey Hill 0-1), DePauw University 7-17 (Alex Stewart 3-6; Mike Moore 3-6; Todd Capes 1-2; Ryan Werntz 0-2; Brian Oilar 0-1). Fouled out--Trinity (Texas)-None, DePauw University-None. Rebounds-Trinity (Texas) 28 (Jay Riola 7), DePauw University 37 (Stephen Schott 11). Assists-Trinity (Texas) 15 (Ross Burt 4), DePauw University 16 (Mike Moore 7). Total fouls-Trinity (Texas) 15, DePauw University 11. A-200 Career high points for McDonald