GRANVILLE, Ohio (November 10, 2021) – After trailing by 20 at halftime with only 26 points on the scoreboard, the Denison University men's basketball team put up 50 points in the second half and made it a game in the final 10 minutes before ultimately falling short by a final score of 86-76 in its 2021-22 season opener against Case Western Reserve University.

Denison shot 57.58 percent (19-33) and sank eight 3-pointers (8-13; 61.54 percent) in the second half to help fuel their comeback attempt. Case Western Reserve, meanwhile, shot an incredible 70.37 percent (19-27) from the field and was 5-for-8 (62.50 percent) from three to build its 20-point lead in the first half.

Denison went behind by as much as 27 points (53-26) just over a minute into the second half, but a 22-10 run ending with a 3-pointer by Ricky Radtke got the margin down to 15 at 63-48 still with over 12 minutes remaining.

Denison cut its deficit to 10 on a 3-pointer by Darren Rubin with six minutes on the clock, and then got to within seven at 73-66 thanks to a layup by Emmett Burnside with five minutes left.

The second 3-pointer of the game by Kevin Cheng made it a two-score game at 77-71 with 3:25 remaining, but from there, a 9-1 run for the Spartans made it a 14-point margin (86-72) heading into the final minute.

Head Coach Chris Sullivan, who is in his second season leading the Big Red, spoke after the game and said, "After a rough start, I think we learned a lot about what we are capable of when we play hard and play together. If we can turn some of our 5-10 minute stretches of playing really well into complete games, I like the potential of this group. So tonight was a great learning opportunity, especially for all of our young players to gain a better understanding of what it is going to take to beat a good team."

Rubin led the Big Red with 21 points on 9-for-20 shooting and three 3-pointers while also adding a team-best six rebounds.

Radtke added 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting, Cameron Smith had 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting, and Freeman Brou scored nine points while adding a team-best five assists.

Next up for the Big Red will be their first road game of the season at Otterbein University at 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 13, in Westerville, Ohio.