DELAWARE, Ohio (January 27, 2024) – After entering the game in a four-team tie for first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings, the Denison University men's basketball team was able to keep pace at the top of the league after surviving on the road and squeaking out a 75-74 win at Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Ohio Wesleyan (7-13 overall, 4-7 NCAC) started the game with a steal and a 3-pointer by Tony Carter, hit another three just over a minute into the game to open up with a 6-2 lead, and then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 14-8 lead four and a half minutes in.

After the 4-for-4 start from long range for the Battling Bishops, the third 3-pointer of the early going by Carter made it 17-9 six minutes in as OWU started the contest 5-for-6 from three.

The Battling Bishops then ultimately went ahead 21-9 before Denison (12-8, 8-3) began to use the long ball to try to get back into it as back-to-back treys by Cameron Smith and Scotty Dean made it 23-17 with 10 and a half minutes left in the first half.

A layup by Aidan King made it 23-19, and then a minute and a half later another 3-pointer by Dean made it just a one-point deficit (25-24) with under eight minutes to go in the opening period.

Denison was shooting 50 percent both from the field (9-18) and from three (4-8) at that point before a 3-pointer by Nick Heath gave the Big Red their first lead of the game (27-25) with seven minutes left in the first half.

The two teams continued to drain it from long range as both hit a 3-pointer to get to the 30-point mark, which is where the score remained until a second-chance layup by Gates Flynn made it 32-30 Big Red with just under four minutes to go in the half.

Two free throws by Ricky Radtke made it 34-30 Big Red with less than three and a half minutes left in the period, and both teams were 6-for-11 form three until Isaac Ward sank another one for OWU to pull the Bishops to within one (34-33).

Carter came up with a block and then another steal and Ward followed with a jumper to put OWU back in front on its next possession, and then Ward continued to cook with two more 3-pointers to make it a 41-34 Bishops' lead with a minute and a half to go until halftime.

OWU finished 9-for-15 (60 percent) from three in the first half with Ward going 4-for-5 and Carter going 3-for-3 from long range.

Down by seven (43-36) at the intermission, Denison came out of the gates in the second half with a layup by Emmett Burnside, but after a layup by Flynn made it a one-score game (45-42), OWU answered with a pair of 3-pointers by Henry Hinkle, making it a seven-point game again (51-44) just over four and a half minutes into the period.

Ward then improved to 5-for-6 from three with another make from long range to put the Bishops up by 10 points (56-46) seven minutes into the second half, and then OWU retained at least an eight-point lead until a second-chance layup by King got the Big Red to within six (61-55) with under eight minutes remaining in the game.

King followed that up with a nice fadeaway jumper to get Denison to within four (61-57) a minute later, but Ward stepped up again with the answer for the Bishops, connecting on his sixth 3-pointer of the game to make it 65-57 with just under six minutes to go.

Denison refused to succumb to the momentum as layups by Dre Rodgers and C. Smith on the next two Big Red possessions made it a four-point game again (65-61), and then C. Smith connected on a three to pull the Big Red to within one (65-64) with four and a half minutes left to play.

With just under four minutes left, a nice roll to the hoop by Burnside resulted in a lay-in to tie it at 66-66, and then the Big Red did damage from long range as a three by Dean assisted on by King gave Denison its second lead of the game (69-66) with 3:20 to go.

King continued to play well for the Big Red and scored a layup on the fourth assist of game by Burnside, making it 71-66 Denison and marking the end of a 14-1 Big Red run with under two and a half minutes on the clock.

In the final two minutes of the game and shortly after scoring on a nifty shot fake in the paint, Hinkle went to the free throw line for OWU with 1:22 remaining and made both shots to tie the game at 71-71. Fortunately for Denison, Flynn drew a foul on the ensuing Big Red possession and made both shots to put Denison back ahead by two (73-71).

Then after a miss from three by Carter, who was 3-for-3 from long range before that shot for OWU, C. Smith secured the defensive rebound for Denison, which took a timeout with 38 seconds left and the two-point lead.

With the shot clock winding down, a missed 3-pointer by the Big Red was followed by a big offensive rebound by Burnside, who was fouled with just 15 seconds left and like Flynn did moments before, made both shots to make it 75-71 Big Red.

OWU, however, quickly responded with a tough 3-pointer by Wade to draw back to within one (75-74) with nine seconds to go, and then after a missed free throw by the Big Red with 5.4 seconds left, Hinkle got an open look just past midcourt to win the game, but his shot just hit off the front of the rim as Denison, by every amount of the word, survived.

OWU finished the game 14-for-28 from three and was led by Ward with a career-high 29 points on 7-for-9 shooting from long range while Hinkle added 23 points on three 3-pointers and Carter grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

Denison, meanwhile, shot over 50 percent both from the field (27-52) and from three (9-17) for the game and shot 60.9 percent (14-23) overall in the second half to earn the comeback victory. In addition, Denison was also able to overcome a 25-7 disadvantage in points off turnovers after holding a 37-26 advantage on the boards and outscoring OWU 34-20 in the paint and 38-9 from the bench.

While the Battling Bishops were led by two players scoring 23 points or more, five Big Red players finished in double figure scoring. Dean finished with 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting from three while Flynn, C. Smith, King and Tyler Miller all had 10 points.

Flynn and King both led Denison with six rebounds while C. Smith and Miller both sank a pair of 3-pointers.

After getting swept by OWU a year ago, the Big Red turned the tables on the Battling Bishops this season and earned their first season sweep against OWU since the 1996-97 season.

Next week will see Denison remain on the road to play at Oberlin College starting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 31, before the Big Red return home to host their Senior Day against Wabash College starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 3. The Big Red will enter the final three weeks of the regular season tied with Wabash College and the College of Wooster at the top of the conference standings, all with identical records of 12-8 overall and 8-3 in the NCAC.