Denison's second-straight upset bid fell just short as 14th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan edged the Big Red 76-74 in North Coast Athletic Conference action from Branch Rickey Arena on Saturday afternoon in Delaware, Ohio.

Despite trailing by as many as 17 points in the first half, Denison faced just a nine-point deficit at the midway point of the second period following an old-fashioned three-point play by Joey Kinsley.

The almost double-digit disadvantage didn't deter the gritty Big Red squad as they orchestrated an 11-3 run over the next three minutes to tie the contest at 66-66.  Senior post Briggs King led the charge with seven of the 11 points, including a key 3-pointer to cut the margin to three. Fellow senior Robby Weingart tied the game on DU's next possession with a triple of his own off an assist from sophomore David Meurer.

After a pair of Nick Felhaber free throws put the Battling Bishops back in front, junior Bret Woolard took a pass from Meurer and buried a three to give the visiting team a 69-68 edge with six minutes to play. OWU responded by scoring eight of the game's next 10 points to build a 76-71 lead with 3:33 left in the half.

At the 3:01 mark, Bret Woolard scored down low to make it a one-possession game. The two squads went scoreless over the next 2:55 until a foul by Matt Jeske with 5.8 seconds on the clock put King on the line to shoot three shots. After missing the first attempt, the senior post buried the second to close the gap to two points. With one free throw remaining, Denison coach Bob Ghiloni called a timeout to go over the game plan with his squad.

At the conclusion of the full timeout, King went back to the line looking to create an opportunity for one of his teammates to grab an offensive rebound. The play worked to perfection as senior Brad Woolard came flying into the lane to grab the board. With time ticking away, the senior put up a shot, but Claude Gray got a piece of the ball and sent it to half court as the clock hit all zeroes.

The Big Red trailed for the majority of the opening half despite scoring the game's first basket. Ahead 14-12, the Battling Bishops went on a 16-4 run en route to building a 17-point lead, its largest lead of the ball game. Denison methodically chipped away at the deficit, eventually trailing 40-30 at the half. DU ended the first half with a 14-7 run.

Denison late run swung the momentum in their favor as they scored 10 of the first 13 points in the half to tie the game at 43-43.  In addition to only scoring three points in the first 4:27, Ohio Wesleyan also went 0-for-7 from 3-point range during that span. Felhaber broke the tie with a layup, but a trey by Meurer gave the Big Red their first lead since the start of the game. Now trailing 49-48, OWU went on a 15-5 run that ended with Kinsley's three-point play at the midway point of the period. The Bishop run spanned almost four minutes.

DU shot 47 percent (29-for-62) from the field, including a 53-percent conversion rate (17-for-32) in the second half. The Big Red also knocked down 7-of-12 from beyond the arc in the second period after going 2-for-12 in the opening half. The Bishops shot 40 percent (29-for-72) from the field and 26 percent (11-for-42) from long range. Both teams pulled down 39 rebounds and scored 34 points in the paint.  Denison held a 17-16 edge in bench points, while OWU scored twice as many points off turnovers (16-8) and had an 11-2 advantage in second-chance scoring.

Meurer finished with a game-high 21 points after going 8-for-16 from the floor. The sophomore point guard also had a game-high five assists in 33 minutes. King went 8-for-11 from the field and 2-for-4 from the charity stripe en route to scoring 19 points. Brad Woolard racked up 11 points and six rebounds, while Matthew Bauer pulled down a game-best nine boards. Bauer also dished out three assists and blocked two shots.

Gray led Ohio Wesleyan with 19 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and four blocks. Ben Simpson chipped in 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Jeske had 13 points and five boards. Freshman point guard Nate Axelrod finished the game with nine points, four rebounds, two assists and a game-high five steals. Falhaber led OWU with eight rebounds and four assists.

The loss drops Denison to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the NCAC, while the Bishops improved to a 7-0 on the year and 3-0 in league play. The Big Red continues their five-game road trip on Wednesday when they travel Oberlin for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.