WOOSTER, Ohio – Denison men's basketball traveled to Wooster, Ohio on Friday evening where they suffered a 72-59 loss to Wooster at Timken Gymnasium.

Following a first half where both sides shot more than 45 percent from the field (Denison – 50%, Wooster – 48%) and the lead changed four different times, the Big Red entered the second half with a 37-36 lead after Conor Fenton connected at the rim with five seconds to play before the break.

With 15:52 remaining in the game, Denison continued to carry the advantage after a three from Kevin Cheng put the Big Red ahead by two, 47-45. On the next possession, Wooster followed with a triple from Elijah Meredith to retake the lead and jumpstart a 16-6 scoring run where Najee Hardaway totaled seven points and put the Scots ahead 61-53 with 10:18 left to play.

Over the next five minutes of action, the Scots continued to extend their lead with seven of the next nine points after Hamilton Johnson, Tayler McNeal, and Brandon Styers combined to send the Big Red into a 13-point deficit, 68-55, and a timeout with 5:01 remaining in the game.

Out of the timeout, Fenton finished a layup for DU as the Big Red trimmed Wooster's lead to 11, 68-57, at the 4:33 mark. Despite Denison's attempt to close the gap, the Scots held the Big Red to two points over the final four minutes of action as DU was handed their third loss of the season while Wooster moved to 2-2 in 2021.

Junior John Faller led the way for the Big Red with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting with four rebounds and two assists. Cheng followed with 11 points while Darren Rubin and Freeman Brou each finished with 10 points apiece. Fention added six points to his 11 boards and Will Hunter tallied four points, six rebounds, and three assists.

Styers and McNeal each posted 19 points for Wooster while Styers added a team-high nine rebounds. Hardaway chipped in 13 points and Meredith added seven points and five rebounds.

Denison and Wooster will square off again this Saturday, Feb. 27 when the Big Red return home to Livingston Gym for a 2 p.m. tip-off with the Fighting Scots. The game is closed to spectators. Tune into the live video stream at www.denisonbigred.com/watch.