SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (February 22, 2022) – No. 5-seeded Denison University advanced to the semifinals of the 2022 North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament following a 62-58 victory over No. 4-seeded Wittenberg University on Tuesday evening at Pam Evans Smith Arena.

Denison was led in this one by a trio of freshman, including 18 points from the reigning NCAC Athlete of the Week Scotty Dean along with 13 points from Tyler Miller and 12 by Ricky Radtke. Radtke also added eight rebounds while Dean and Miller both had three assists.

After Denison led by as many as 13-points in the final nine minutes of the game, Wittenberg began its comeback attempt and nearly came all the way back, making it a one-score game at 54-51 with 2:45 left and then cutting its deficit down to only one at 54-53 with two minutes remaining.

Will Hunter finally stopped the 9-0 Tigers' run with a layup with 1:42 left , and then after two free throws for Wittenberg made it a one-point game again, the Tigers played great defense on Denison's top playmaker, Dean, by running him off the 3-point line, but somehow Dean was able to drive into the lane and finish the layup to give the Big Red a three-point lead again at 58-55 with exactly one minute to go.

It took two offensive rebounds by the Tigers on their next possession before two free throws made it only a one-point margin again at 58-57, but this time Denison had the lead with under 30 seconds left, forcing Wittenberg to foul.

Miller stepped up to the free throw line with only 19 seconds left, made his first attempt after hitting the front of the rim, and then drained the second shot to make it 60-57.

On Wittenberg's next possession, the Tigers opted to attack the glass instead of going for three and the tie, and after two misses at the rim, a second offensive rebound again led to two free throw attempts. However, with only four seconds left, all that time ticking off the clock benefited Denison as after Wittenberg made the first free throw, they tied to miss the second shot on purpose, but a lane violation gave the ball back to the Big Red.

Another Denison freshman, Cameron Smith, then went to the line for the 1-and-1 with only 3.5 seconds left, and despite only attempting 14 free throws on the season, Smith made both shots to make it a two-score game and secure the win.

Earlier on in the game, it was tough sledding offensively for both teams as Denison missed each of its first seven shots and did not get on the board until a layup by John Faller over five minutes in made it 6-2 Wittenberg.

Then with eight and a half minutes left in the first half, the score was only 8-6 Wittenberg as the Big Red started 2-for-19 (10.5 percent) from the field and were 0-for-6 from three while the Tigers were 3-for-11 (27.3 percent) from the field and 0-for-3 from three with six turnovers.

The Tigers led by as many as eight points in the first half until the final two minutes when back-to-back 3-pointers by Smith and Dean tied the game at 23-23 before a layup by Hunter in the final 20 seconds gave the Big Red their first lead of the game at 25-23.

After going 3-for-12 from three in the first half, Denison was on fire from long range to start the second half, hitting three 3-pointers in a row to take a 36-31 lead a little bit over three minutes into the period. The first of those three 3-pointers in a row was by Dean to make it 30-29 Big Red, followed by Miller to make it 33-31 and then again by Dean.

Then after a pull up jumper at the elbow by Hunter gave Denison a seven-point lead at 40-33, Dean hit his third 3-pointer of the opening seven minutes of the second half to make it 43-36.

That was followed by the second 3-pointer of the half by Miller, who hit from way behind the 3-point line and used the shooter's bounce to put Denison ahead by double digits for the first time in the game at 46-36 with 11 minutes left to play. It was a great turnaround shooting wise for a Denison squad that started the game 0-for-6 from three before making eight of their next 13 attempts from long range.

Denison continued to grow its lead as an and-one by Radtke made it 49-38 with 10 and a half minutes left, and then two more free throws by Radtke made it a 13-point game at 51-38 with under nine minutes left before Wittenberg began its comeback attempt.

Denison, which has now won seven of its last eight games, improves to 13-12 overall while Wittenberg's season comes to an end with an identical 13-12 record. Denison has now advanced to the semifinals in five of the last six NCAC Tournaments while for Wittenberg, it was the end of their run of three straight appearances in the championship game.

In was also the second win this season and third in a row (3-0) at his alma mater for Denison Head Coach Chris Sullivan, who now adds his first career postseason victory to his resume as well.

With the win, the Big Red will face top-seed and No. 16 nationally-ranked Wabash College on Friday, February 25, in Crawfordsville, Indiana. In the other semifinal, No. 2-seeded Wooster will face No. 6-seeded DePauw.