A 15-footer by Darius White went off the mark as time expired and that was enough to let Ohio Wesleyan hang on for a 65-63 win over the Big Red from Livingston Gym.

The Battling Bishops led by eight with three minutes to play, but Denison gutted its way back into the ball game with some gritty defense and tenacious rebounding.  After three-straight misses by the Bishops and four points at the charity stripe by the Big Red, DU trailed by four with just over one minute to play.

That's when Denison went to its senior, Alex Longi, who got free in the post and banked his shot in off the glass, to pull DU to within two at 65-63.

That's when things got really interesting.  The game had been a physical one from the onset with a fair amount of fouls and missed layups due to the defensive pressure.  After the Longi basket, Ohio Wesleyan's Seth Clark went to the hoop, where he was blocked by Patrick Keller.  Keller sent a quick outlet to David Meurer who was off to the races at the other end.  Meurer's lay-up attempt sat on the rim and fell off into the arms of OWU's Taylor Rieger. 

On the Bishops ensuing possession, with 24 seconds to play, Denison's Brad Woolard was called for his fifth foul, sending Reuel Rogers to the line for a one-and-one.  Rogers missed the front end and the rebound went to Meurer setting up a final possession for Denison to either tie or win the game.

The play was called for Longi and the senior took a baseline jumper with seven seconds to play that went just long.  Denison's Matthew Bauer tipped the ball to himself and got off a quick shot from the paint that also missed.  With four seconds left, OWU's Ben Simpson grabbed the defensive board and fed Seth Clark who followed with an ill-advised pass to Denison's White who quickly snapped off a shot that missed just as time expired.

Despite being outsized across the board, Denison managed to outrebound OWU, 45-43.  They also committed just 11 turnovers under some heavy duress.  Longi led DU with 18 points and six rebounds while Woolard added 14 points and five boards despite being saddled with foul trouble for much of the game.

Off the bench, sophomore John Cheng contributed nine points and six rebounds in 18 minutes.  Meurer also added nine points and a game-high five steals.

OWU had four players in double figures, led by Reiger's 16 points.  Rogers posted 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks while Dre White finished with 13 points and nine boards.  Claude Gray was the final Bishop in double digits.  He ended with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Denison shot 34 percent from the field while OWU connected at a 40 percent clip.

Ohio Wesleyan improves to 5-2 overall and goes to 2-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference while DU drops to 2-5 and 0-2 in conference play.  Denison will return to action on Thursday (Dec. 12) when they travel to nearby Capital University for a 7 p.m. tip-off against the Crusaders.