GRANVILLE, Ohio (January 17, 2024) – After five lead changes all in the second half, the Denison University men's basketball team came up short by a final score of 65-61 at home against DePauw University on Wednesday in North Coast Athletic Conference action.

Five of Denison's first eight field goals of the game were 3-pointers, each by a different player, culminating with a three by Ricky Radtke on his first field goal attempt of the game to make it 21-13 Big Red just under nine and a half minutes in.

Radtke connected from three again to get Denison's lead up to double digits (31-20) for the only time in the game with just under five and a half minutes left in the opening period.

DePauw, however, closed out the first half on an 8-0 run over the final five minutes of the period while Denison was 0-for-6 from the field and 0-for-5 from three during the Tigers' run that made it just a one-score game (31-28) at the intermission.

The Big Red then missed their first two shots of the second half before a nice shot fake and layup by Emmett Burnside stopped Denison's seven-plus-minute scoreless skid.

The shooting woes for Denison, however, did not go away as DePauw took the lead (37-35) for the first time in the game five and half minutes into the second half.

The Big Red, meanwhile, started the second period just 1-for-12 from the field and 0-for-6 from three until a midrange jumper by Kellon Smith just over eight minutes into the half tied it at 41-41, and then on the next Denison possession a layup by Radtke tied it at 43-43.

After a free throw by Burnside, a layup by Trevor Reed made it 46-43 Big Red with 10 minutes left to play, but DePauw took back the lead with back-to-back 3-pointers by Caleb Washington, making it 52-48 with just over eight and a half minutes left.

Denison answered with a corner 3-pointer by Dre Rodgers on the fourth assist of the game by Burnside on its next possession, but then Washington began to take over with a pair of free throws followed by a tough midrange jumper, all before his third 3-pointer of the game to make it 59-53 Tigers with just over six and a half minutes to play. It was the end of a stretch of 16 straight points for Washington during what was ultimately a 16-7 run for DePauw.

Down 61-56 in the final five minutes of the game, a 3-pointer by Cameron Smith got the Big Red back to within two (61-59).

Then in the final 3:30, a big block by Burnside led to a runout for C. Smith, who got the ball back from Scotty Dean, hit the Tigers with a shot fake and finished with a layup to tie it at 61-61.

It then took until the final minute of the game for another basket from either team as an offensive rebound for the Tigers came back to haunt the Big Red in the end.

After the second-chance layup by Camden Brown made it 63-61 DePauw, a missed layup by Radtke led to DePauw's Ronald Johnson going to the line for two free throws and a chance to put the Tigers up by two possessions.

Instead, Johnson missed his second free throw, giving Denison a chance down three (64-61) in the final 30 seconds.

After a timeout by the Big Red with 12.4 seconds left, Denison ran a play to get Dean an open look from the top of the key, but instead he was off the mark, finishing 0-for-6 from three on the day.

Washington then finished it off for DePauw by making his first of two free throws to put the game out of reach.

Washington was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and 3-for-3 from three with his 21 points all coming in the final 13 minutes of the game for DePauw, which limited the Big Red to just 10-for-33 (30.3 percent) shooting overall and a 2-for-15 (13.3 percent) mark from three in the second half.

DePauw, which entered the game leading the NCAC with 41.0 total rebounds and 29.1 defensive rebounds per game while also ranking second at 11.9 offensive rebounds per game, outrebounded Denison 48-36 overall and 15-9 on the offensive glass.

C. Smith (12 points) was Denison's only player in double figures in scoring. He also added six rebounds and five steals. Radtke finished with nine points while Reed had eight and Gates Flynn and K. Smith both had seven. Lastly, Burnside finished with six points, six rebounds and four assists.

Denison falls to 10-7 overall and 6-2 in the NCAC with the loss while DePauw improves to 10-7 and 5-3.

Next up, Denison will hit the road to battle the College of Wooster starting at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, January 20.