GRANVILLE, Ohio-- The semifinals and finals of the 2017 North Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament will be played at Ohio Wesleyan University on Feb. 24-25.
Denison is the No. 3 seed in this year's tournament. They advanced to the semifinal round after Tuesday's 85-79 win over DePauw University. The Big Red will face the College of Wooster on Friday at 8:30 p.m. at Branch Rickey Arena in Delaware, Ohio. The winner of that semifinal will face the winner of the Ohio Wesleyan-Wittenberg contest in the championship game at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25 on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan.
This is the third time in six years Denison has qualified for the conference tournament final four. At 22-4 they are in the midst of the best season in program history. Denison is currently ranked 14th in the latest D3hoops.com top-25 poll.
In the win over DePauw, David Meurer and Jett Speelman combined for 48 of the team's 85 points. Meurer scored 28 while Speelman added 20 points and seven rebounds. Denison connected on 12-of-30 from 3-point range and shot 45 percent from the field. Speelman needs only two points to join Denison's 1,000-point club. An impressive feat considering Speelman is in just his second season at Denison after transferring from Division II Ashland prior to his junior season.
Wooster and Denison split the regular-season series with each team winning on the road. DU handed then 11th ranked Wooster a 65-59 loss on Nov. 30. The Fighting Scots returned the favor with a 77-62 win in Granville on Feb. 4. This is a rematch of last year's NCAC Tournament Championship game that was won by Denison, 92-81, in overtime.
Wooster (19-7) is led in scoring by senior Dan Fanelly (18.1 ppg). They boast the top scoring offense in the league at 85.7 ppg and are beating teams by an average of 14.6 points per game this season.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children, 18 and under. Individuals with NCAC guest passes and college students from non-NCAC institutions will also be charged $5. College students will a valid NCAC ID will be admitted free. This ticket is for one game only. The facility will be cleared after the conclusion of the first semifinal game.
