CLEVELAND, Ohio (November 8, 2022) – The Denison University men's basketball team led 35-32 at the half and put up a great effort on the road at No. 19 nationally-ranked Case Western Reserve University, but in the end the Big Red fell 78-72 in their 2022-23 season opener on Tuesday night.

It was the second year in a row the Big Red opened up their new season against the Spartans after falling by 10 (86-76) at home last year.

This time around and playing against a Case team that finished with its best record in program history (20-7) and advanced to the round of 16 in its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, the game featured nine ties and six lead changes.

Late in the first half, Denison took its first lead since 13-10 and went up 28-27 on a jumper by Cameron Smith with three and a half minutes left before halftime, and then an and-one by Nick Heath at the 2:19-mark made it a four-point lead at 31-27.

The Big Red then led it 35-32 at the break after an offensive rebound and layup in the final 30 seconds by Ricky Radtke, who led all players in the first half with 14 points.

Just under a minute and a half into the second half, Denison took its largest lead of the game at 37-32 on a jumper by Gates Flynn, and then a 3-pointer by Tyler Miller made it 40-37 Big Red less than four minutes into the period.

Case took over the lead for good with a pair of free throws to make it 48-47 with 12:19 left to play, but neither team led by more than five points in the second half until a 3-pointer by the Spartans made it 61-55 with just over eight minutes to go.

Miller answered that 3-pointer with another three of his own, and then the Spartans would not lead by more than five again until the final minute and a half of the game.

With 3:17 left, a layup by Darren Rubin made it 67-65, but a jumper by Case on its next possession and then a 3-pointer with 1:16 left made it a seven-point game at 72-65.

Miller again answered with a three ball, his fourth 3-pointer of the second half, to make it 72-68 with under 45 seconds to go, but the Spartans finished off the game 6-for-8 from the free throw line to close out the win.

Denison was led in scoring by Miller with 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field and a 5-for-8 mark from 3-point range.

Miller's fellow sophomore, Radtke, added 20 points on perfect 10-for-10 shooting while adding nine rebounds, and senior guard Will Hunter scored 11 points while matching Radtke with nine boards.

Both teams were very similar shooting wise as Denison shot 45.3 percent (29-for-64) from the field, 22.2 percent (6-for-27) from three and 80 percent (8-for 10) from the free throw line while Case shot 42.2 percent (27-for-64) overall, 20.8 percent (5-for-24) from three and 82.6 percent (19-for-23) from the foul line. Two of the biggest differences in the game, however, were the number of free throw attempts and the 17-11 advantage in points off turnovers for the Spartans.

Denison will have back-to-back road games to close out the first week of the season as they play at Bluffton University on Friday, November 11, (6 p.m.) before heading to Ohio Northern University the next day on Saturday, November 12 (11 a.m.).