GRANVILLE, Ohio (December 16, 2023) – Tyler Miller scored a season-high 24 points on five made 3-pointers and freshman Trevor Reed added a career-high 20 points as the Denison University men's basketball team defeated Bluffton University by a final score of 90-63 at home in nonconference action on Saturday afternoon. It was the fifth win in a row for the Big Red, who improved to 7-4 overall on the season.

Denison outrebounded Bluffton 15-5 to start the game, including 5-0 on the offensive glass, and led 10-0 in second chance points as a layup by Ricky Radtke made it a 16-10 Big Red lead nine minutes into the contest.

A midrange jumper by Gates Flynn made it 27-14 Big Red and capped an 8-0 run with just over six and a half minutes left in the first half. Reed and Flynn both accounted for two baskets during the run, which lasted for nearly four minutes.

A 3-pointer by Scotty Dean and a long two-point jumper by Reed on back-to-back possessions made it 34-17 with under five minutes remaining in the opening period, and then the second 3-pointer of the opening half by Miller made it a 20-point game (41-21) with just over two minutes on the clock.

Miller then took over with another 3-pointer followed by a dunk and a layup, all within the final minute and a half of the period, making it 48-27 Big Red at the intermission.

After scoring Denison's last 10 points of the first half, Miller led all scorers with 16 points while adding three blocked shots in the opening 20 minutes.

The Big Red opened the second half with seven straight points from Kellon Smith followed by a layup by Dean to make it a 30-point margin (57-27) and take away any chance that Bluffton had to get back into the game.

Miller tied his career high in made field goals (9-14) and finished 5-for-9 from three while Reed was 7-for-9 from the field. Reed (7) and Miller (5) were two of four Big Red players with five or more rebounds in the contest.

K. Smith also reached double-digits with 11 points while Radtke added nine points, six rebounds and three assists and Emmett Burnside had nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The rebounding numbers finished 48-28 overall and 17-5 on the offensive glass in favor of the Big Red, who led 26-3 on second chance points. It was a season-high in both total rebounds and offensive rebounds for Denison and was its most in both categories since an 82-57 win vs. Hiram College on December 8, 2021.

The Big Red also put together a season-high 14 steals, led by Burnside and Cameron Smith with three apiece.

After the break, Denison will return to action at the Washington & Lee Holiday Tournament to face off against Susquehanna University starting at 4 p.m. on Friday, December 29, in Lexington, Virginia.