KALAMAZOO, Mich. (November 10, 2023) – The Denison University men's basketball team scored 36 points in both halves, and that was enough to win 72-64 on the road at Kalamazoo College in its 2023-24 season opener on Friday evening.

Denison (1-0 overall) led by just one point (36-35) at halftime and then proceeded to shoot 0-for-10 from three in the second half, but was saved by 16-for-21 (76.19 percent) shooting from the free throw line over the final 20 minutes.

Sophomore Nick Heath led a balanced Big Red offensive attack with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the line while junior Ricky Radtke had 11 points and a team-high six rebounds while shooting 5-for-7 from the charity stripe.

Junior Tyler Miller matched Radtke with 11 points and was 5-for-8 from the field while fellow-junior Scotty Dean had nine points and hit two 3-pointers while adding a game-high five steals.

Lastly, junior Cameron Smith added eight points, sophomore Aidan King had seven, freshman Trevor Reed was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line in his collegiate debut, fellow-freshman Kellon Smith made both of his shot attempts in his debut, and senior Emmett Burnside led all players with a game-high five assists.

In all, the Big Red shot 25-for-33 (75.8 percent) from the line for the night while the Hornets were 20-for-30 (66.7 percent).

It was a contest that featured 10 lead changes and seven ties, with the final tie coming on a layup by Miller with 7:27 left to play.

On the next Kalamazoo possession, junior Dre Rodgers got the defensive rebound on a missed 3-pointer, got fouled, and sank two free throws that would ultimately signify the final lead change of the game.

With Denison up by just one (60-59) with under four and a half minutes left, a steal by Dean led to a layup by Heath; and then with 2:31 left, Dean got another steal and this time scored it himself on a layup to put the Big Red up by six (65-59).

Two free throws by Kalamazoo cut the margin to three (66-63) in the final minute and a half, but Denison made four of its next six free throws to stay on top as a pair of makes at the line by Radtke made it 70-64 with just 42 seconds left, and then a steal on the next possession by C. Smith led to another layup by Miller to make it an eight-point game and put it out of reach in the final 30 seconds.

Denison will return to the court at 3 p.m. tomorrow (Nov. 11) for a tough match at No. 10 nationally-ranked Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.