Despite rallying from a 15-point second-half deficit, the Denison men's basketball team suffered a 67-58 setback at Wittenberg on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers used three 3-pointers and a 6-0 edge on the glass in the opening 5:27 to jump out to a 16-6 lead.  During that span, both squads converted 60 percent from the field, but Wittenberg attempted twice as many shots from the floor (6-for-10).

Trailing 21-7, junior Jon Akpapunam and senior Brett Tiberi hit a jumper and a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions to trim the deficit to nine.  Later in the period, senior Mike Garabedian knocked down a triple to shrink the margin to 24-19 with 8:56 left in the half.

Down by 11 with less than six and a half to play, senior Marr Mansfield scored on back-to-back possessions, while Garabedian converted a fastbreak bucket to close the margin to 30-25.  The third-straight score forced the Tigers to call a timeout with 5:09 on the clock.

Wittenberg regained a nine-point lead on a Clayton Black layup with 3:10 to play.  However, DU closed out the period with an 8-0 run that shrunk the deficit to 34-33.  Junior Dimonde Hale scored the first five points, while Garabedian drained a three to cap off the run.

The Tigers opened the second period with a 14-1 run that was sparked by four three-pointers.  Senior Josh McKee knocked down two of the four triples for Wittenberg.

After trailing by as many as 15 points in the period, seniors Casey Stockton and Jim Leffew buried threes on back-to-back possessions to make it a six-point game.  Trailing 53-47, Hale converted two attempts at the charity stripe to cut the deficit to four.  Stockton and Garabedian each split a pair at the line to shrink the gap to 55-53.  With 4:15 left in regulation, Farmer drew a shooting foul and knocked down a pair to tie the game at 55-55.

Wittenberg answered the DU run with back-to-back dunks by Black to regain a four-point edge, while an Alex Brandt layup extended the lead to 61-55.  Farmer hit a triple to make it a one possession game.  However, the Tigers scored the final six points, including four tallies from the foul line, to secure the victory.

Both squads shot 46 percent from the field.  The Big Red converted 21-of-46 attempts, while the Tigers were 26-for-57.  Wittenberg outrebounded Denison 41-24, and held an 18-4 advantage in second chance points.

Hale went 6-for-7 from the field and 4-for-6 from the foul line en route to a game-high 16 points.  The junior also grabbed six rebounds, while Farmer added 11 points and four boards.  Garabedian totaled nine points on 3-of-5 from the floor and 2-of-3 from behind the arc.

Black paced the Tigers with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while McKee added 14 points and Michael Cooper chipped in 13.  McKee and Cooper also combined for seven of Wittenberg's eight three-pointers.

Denison falls to 6-9 overall and 3-3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while the Tigers improve to 12-3 and 6-0 in league play.  The Big Red returns to action on Wednesday when they host DePauw University at 6 p.m.