Granville, Ohio- For the second time in program history, the top-seeded Denison men's basketball team (24-3) has won the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament title, after defeating the third-seeded The College of Wooster (21-7), 79-68.

As the tournament champions, Denison has earned the NCAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. The Big Red will find out who and where they will play on Monday, March 3, at noon during the NCAA selection show. The first and second rounds of the tournament will occur next weekend on campus sites.

Inside Livingston Gymnasium, in front of their home crowd, the Big Red played with energy and confidence from the first whistle to the final buzzer. Denison entered the matchup after a tightly contested win over Ohio Wesleyan the night before, while Wooster stepped on the court flying high after defeating the two-seeded Wabash by double digits. 

Denison opened the matchup with nine unanswered points, setting the tone early that the Big Red were ready to take home the hardware. In the 15th minute of the first half, the Fighting Scots finally caught a break when Jaiden Cox-Holloway stole the ball from Jack Steinbach and put in an emphatic dunk to put Wooster on the board. Junior Aidan King quickly answered Cox-Holloway's dunk with a three-pointer to extend Denison's lead to 10, begging what would be a see-saw first half between the two teams.

Living up to their name, the Fighting Scots found their way back into the game going on a late 11-7 run over the Big Red to tie the game at 34 apiece with 46 minutes left in the half. Once again, a timely three by Tyler Miller gave Denison a three point cushion heading into the half. At the half, the Big Red were 11 for 25 from the field, shot 40% from behind the arc, and were perfect at the line. As for the Fighting Scots, they shot under 40% from the field, were held to only four three-pointers, however, stayed in the game because of their success at the free-throw line, shooting 10-10 at the line.

Much like how they started the first half, Denison's first shot of the second half was a definitive three-pointer by Darren Rubin to extend the Big Red's lead to six. Though the two teams traded baskets throughout the half, Denison's bench helped lift the Big Red past the Fighting Scots, outscoring Wooster's bench 43-10. With time winding down, Denison put the game away at the line going eight for ten, securing a 79-68 victory over the College of Wooster for its second tournament championship since 2016.  

• Denison never gave up the lead, and the only time the game was tied was just before the half (34-34)
• Junior Aidan King and senior Tyler Miller led the Big Red with 15 and 14 points respectively.
• Aidan King's performance (15 pts | 5 reb) off the bench earned him the Al Van Wie Award (Tournament MVP)
• Joining King on the 2025 NCAC Men's Basketball All-Tournament Team was Darren Rubin who finished the tournament with 24 points, five assists, and six rebounds.