GAMBIER, Ohio (February 10, 2024) – The Denison University men's basketball team limited the Owls to 37.5 percent shooting from the field and 22.2 percent shooting from three en route to a 72-53 win on the road at Kenyon College on Saturday. Denison shot 40 percent or better both from the field and from three in both halves to earn the victory.

Denison (14-10 overall, 10-5 North Coast Athletic Conference) opened up a 20-9 lead halfway through the first half after going on a 9-0 run ending with a 3-pointer and a layup by Scotty Dean on back-to-back possessions, and then back-to-back threes by Gates Flynn and Dean then made it a 13-point Denison lead (33-20) with just over three minutes left in the first half.

In all for the opening half, the Big Red offense, ranked second in points per game in the NCAC, shot above their season averages in both 3-point percentage and field goal percentage, going 5-for-12 (41.7 percent) from beyond the arc and 13-for-27 (48.1 percent) from the field to fuel a 12-point lead (37-25) after 20 minutes. 

Dean and the Big Red kept the 3-pointers coming as a pair of long-range makes by Cameron Smith and Dean in the opening two minutes of the second half helped stake Denison to a 17-point lead (44-27).

Tyler Miller followed up a 3-pointer with a steal and a layup to make it a 20-point game (49-29) just over three and a half minutes into the second half as the Big Red started the second period 3-for-4 from 3-point range.

The five points by Miller were just the start of a 12-0 Denison run that lasted three minutes and saw Kellon Smith score seven-straight points on an and-one and two layups on three straight possessions, making it 56-29 Big Red with 14:15 remaining.

K. Smith continued to play well and hit a pullup jumper to give Denison its largest lead of the game (60-32) with 12:18 left.

In the end, Dean finished with a game-high 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting overall and three 3-pointers while K. Smith scored 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field.

Miller, meanwhile, finished with 10 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers, and led the Big Red with six rebounds.

Jack Steinbach had his best game as a freshman, scoring seven points on 2-for-2 shooting from the field, including his first-career 3-pointer, and 2-for-2 shooting from the charity stripe.

Denison never trailed in the game and outscored Kenyon 36-19 in bench points and 17-5 in points off turnovers.

Next up for the Big Red will be their final game of the regular season as Denison hosts Wittenberg University at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 14, in Granville, Ohio.