GREENCASTLE, Ind. (February 4, 2023) – Denison University got 18 points from Darren Rubin and a third straight double-double from Ricky Radtke while Nick Heath, Scotty Dean and Tyler Miller combined for nine 3-pointers in the Big Red's 76-70 road win over DePauw University on Saturday afternoon at the Neal Fieldhouse.

After beginning the day with a half-game lead over DePauw for fourth place in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings, Denison now improves to 11-9 overall and 7-5 in the conference while the Tigers drop to 14-8 and 6-7. The win was significant as it is the top-four seeds who will have the benefit of playing at home during the first round of the NCAC Tournament that begins in two and a half weeks.

In addition to his double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, Radtke also added four assists and three blocks. Heath finished with 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range, and Dean added nine points on three 3-pointers while Cameron Smith finished with eight points and six boards.

It was a back-and-forth contest that included eight lead changes and saw Denison take a 10-point lead (37-27) early in the second half after a jumper by Radtke and a 3-pointer by Dean on their first two possessions of the period.

DePauw came all the way back and took over the lead at 56-55 with a layup just under the 10-minute mark, but Denison answered back with a score on each of its next three possessions, the first and the last of which came via jumpers by Rubin to make it 61-56 Big Red with eight minutes left to play.

After misses from both teams from three on the next two possessions, the Tigers cut the 6-0 Denison run in half with a 3-pointer to make it 61-59. From there, the Big Red lead was trimmed down to only one point on three occasions and never grew to more than three points until the final three and a half minutes when Rubin made it a two-possession game (71-66) with a pair of free throws.

With 1:14 left, a great in-bounds pass from the baseline by Will Hunter found Radtke for a layup to make it 73-68 Big Red, and then after a miss from the paint by the Tigers with 47 seconds left, Smith grabbed the defensive rebound.

A free throw by Radtke made it 74-68 with 36 seconds remaining, and then after two free throws by DePauw following a foul by the Big Red to prevent the Tigers from getting up a 3-point attempt, Rubin went 2-for-2 from the free throw line to make it 76-70 with only 19 seconds left. Rubin was 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the game. The game then ended with a missed layup on the other end by DePauw followed by another rebound from Smith to finish it off.

Next up for Denison will be Senior Day against Wabash College at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 8, as the Big Red look to make it three wins in a row for the first time this season.