Granville, Ohio - Following a record-breaking 2024-25 season, the Denison men's basketball team returned to Livingston Gymnasium to embark on the new year. Denison welcomed the preseason-ranked No. 12 Knights from Calvin University on Friday night, and the Big Red would upset the Knights in a back-and-forth battle, 61-59.
The two teams started slow, shaking off the cobwebs of the off-season. The Big Red's junior forward Trevor Reed, however, became the hot hand for Denison, putting up the first ten buckets of the night for the Big Red. In the first ten minutes of play with each basket by Reed, the Knights seemed to have an answer, resulting in three ties and two lead changes.
Denison would finally start breaking away from Calvin just after the two teams were knotted up at 18. In the final ten minutes of the first half, the Big Red's bench helped bolster a 17-11 run for a 34-31 lead heading into halftime.
In the first half, Calvin held Denison to just 2 for 15 from behind the arc and 38.9% from the field. Despite shooting under 40% from the field, Denison held a 20-16 advantage on the glass, and the Big Red's bench generated 17 of the 34 points, while the Knights were held to zero.
Similar to how the first half kicked off, Calvin hit the first basket to cut Denison's lead by one, and would go head-to-head with Reed in the opening minutes of the second half. The two teams battled for position and for a significant lead; however, neither team could ultimately pull away.
Calvin would go on a 5-0 run with under 13 minutes to go to make the score 45-40 in favor of the Knights, but the Big Red would soon turn it their way into a 7-0 run thanks to a triple from Owen Giannoulias and five straight points from Kellon Smith.
Both teams would trade baskets down the stretch, as there would be three ties and one lead change heading into the final four minutes of the game. With the game tied 55-55, Jack Steinbach took it himself and put up a floater that would go through the bottom of the net and give the Big Red a two-point lead with three minutes to go. Steinbach finished his day with five points, four rebounds, and four assists.
The Big Red lead got out to a 61-57 lead with 1:28 left to go, thanks to a Reed step-back jumper, but the Knights bounced back to cut the deficit to two. After both teams traded missed buckets, Calvin had the ball on their own out-of-bounds baseline with three seconds left with an opportunity to tie or win the game. With the ball inbounded to the corner, the Knights, looking for a three and to win the game, Liam Taylor had smothering defense to force a bad shot that would go over the basket, and the Big Red took home a big-time home opener win against the No. 12 ranked Knights.
Four different Big Red players scored eight-plus, with Reed leading the charge with 23. Despite shooting 35.2% from the field and going 4-28 behind the arc, the bench collected 23 points to help propel the Big Red to victory.
Team Highlights:
- Reed finished with 23 points to lead the Big Red. It is his third-highest output in his Big Red career.
- The Big Red out-rebounded the Knights 39-34, and had an 18-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
- Taylor finished his night with eight points and four rebounds to kick off his sophomore campaign.
- The Denison bench outscored Calvin 23-0, showcasing their depth. Taylor (eight points), Owen Giannoulias (seven points), Luke Salkowski (six points), and Samson Zach (two points) all led the charge off the bench.
- Denison had four blocks on the day, with Taylor having two of them.
- The Big Red kept it clean on their end, only turning the ball over three times compared to Calvin's 10. They also had the advantage in second-chance points, 14-8.
- This is Denison's third-straight season with a season-opening win.
Up Next: The Big Red will co-host Big Red Madness alongside the women's team on Saturday, November 8. The women's team will host Muskingum University before the men's team takes on Alma College.
