GRANVILLE, Ohio (Nov. 16) – Sophomore guard
Kellon Smith drilled a corner triple in the waning seconds to lift the Denison University men's basketball team to a 79-78 win over 18th ranked Carnegie Mellon University in Saturday evening action at Livingston Gymnasium.
The win moves the Big Red to 2-0. The loss is the first of 2024-25 season for the Tartans, who qualified for the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
Smith finished with 16 points on six-of-nine shooting from the field.
Darren Rubin poured in a team-high 21 points to lead the Big Red. Rubin connected on 8-of-14 field goal attempts including 4-of-7 from distance. Rubin added four assists including one that set up Smith's game-winning triple.
Ricky Radtke made it three Big Red scorers in double figures with 15 points.
Denison used hot shooting in the first half to take a 41-35 lead into halftime. The Big Red shot 50 percent (17-of-34) over the first 20 minutes which included five made three-point attempts.
After jumping out to a 9-0 lead to start the game, the Big Red led for 27+ minutes of the contest. Denison raised its lead to 50-44 on a triple by
Scotty Dean at the 14:55 mark of the second half. The two teams continued to exchange makes over the next several minutes. The Tartans eventually surged into a 60-59 lead when Nolan Casey knocked down a shot from beyond the arc with 10:23 to play.
The game would swing back and forth over the next six-plus minutes as neither team led by more than one possession. A driving layup by
Cameron Smith made it a four-point Denison lead at 71-67 with 3:55 to play. CMU countered with six-straight points to regain the lead on an RJ Holmes triple with 2:27 remaining.
CMU maintained a narrow lead down the stretch until a free throw split with 21 seconds left the door open for Denison. Following a timeout, Rubin found Smith for the game-deciding shot.
The Tartans had two good looks inside the final five seconds but both shots missed their targets.
Denison held a 20-10 advantage in bench scoring and turnovers (17-10). CMU outrebounded Denison by a 32-28 margin. CMU managed a 10-9 advantage in made three-pointers.
The victory is the first for Denison over Carnegie Mellon in the most recent matchups in the series. The Big Red were downed in overtime in Granville back in 2022.
Up Next: Denison continues its homestand when Capital visits Livingston Gymnasium on Wednesday, Nov. 10. Tip off between the Big Red and the Comets is set for 7 p.m.
