WOOSTER, Ohio (February 24, 2023) – The 2023 North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament run for the fourth-seeded Denison University men's basketball team came to an end in the semifinals with a 79-54 loss to the top-seeded team in the tournament, the College of Wooster, on Friday night inside Timken Gymnasium.

Both teams entered the matchup on Friday with only one loss in the month of February, but a huge second half for Wooster would be the difference in the game.

The Fighting Scots shot 58.62 percent (17-of-29) from the field and 50 percent (4-of-8) from three in the second half to outscore the Big Red 42-25. Denison, meanwhile, shot only 36 percent (9-of-25) from the field and was 1-of-13 from three in the final 20 minutes.

The Big Red took their only lead of the game at 18-17 after an and-one by Ricky Radtke with nine and a half minutes left in the first half, but Wooster struck back with a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to go ahead 26-18.

Tyler Miller stopped the run with his third 3-pointer of the first half before Wooster answered with a three of its own.

The Big Red got to within four of the Fighting Scots three times in the final three and a half minutes of the first half, with the final time coming on a midrange jumper by Darren Rubin to make it 33-29 with a minute and a half on the clock.

In all for the first half, Wooster led by eight (37-29) while shooting 56 percent (14-of-25) from the field. The Big Red, meanwhile, were not far behind after shooting 12-of-24 (50 percent) in the opening period.

In addition, both teams were 3-for-10 from 3-point range in the first half, but that changed in the second half as Wooster started the final period with three 3-pointers from Elijah Meredith in the first five minutes to go up by 14 at 48-34.

The Big Red got back to within nine (48-39) just 30 seconds later thanks to a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer by Rubin, and then a steal by Emmett Burnside followed by the ensuing layup by Cameron Smith made it 50-41 with 13 minutes left to play.

However, Wooster put the game away with a 13-2 run over the next five minutes as an old-fashioned three-point play by Wooster's Nick Everett made it a 16-point game (59-43) with nine and a half minutes left before the Fighting Scots stretched their lead to 20 points (63-43) on a contested jumper by Najee Hardaway with eight minutes remaining.

Denison was led in scoring by Radtke with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field while Rubin added 14 points.

Burnside finished with six points and matched his career-highs with four assists and three steals.

After entering the game with three straight wins and six wins in its last seven games since the turn of the calendar into February, Denison's season comes to an end with an overall record of 15-11. This was the Big Red's sixth NCAC semifinals appearance in the last seven seasons. Wooster (21-5), meanwhile, advances to play second-seeded Wabash College in Saturday's championship game at 4 p.m.