Granville, Ohio- With the stands filled with Red and Black, and emotions high as Denison and Ohio Wesleyan took to the field to determine the number one seed heading into the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, the Big Red came up short, falling to the Battling Bishops 15-13. The two teams have a storied rivalry, with Denison holding a 21-7 record over Ohio Wesleyan. However, with today's loss, the Big Red dropped to 12-5 for the season and suffered their first NCAC loss of the season (7-1), securing the second seed and semifinals hosting rights for the NCAC men's lacrosse tournament. The Battling Bishops improved to 13-3 for the season, and enter the NCAC tournament with a perfect 8-0 record and the top seed.

In the first quarter, Ohio Wesleyan found the back of Denison's net first in the 14-minute mark. The Big Red would answer quickly and score three of their own to give themselves a  3-1 cushion with just under seven minutes left in the quarter. By the end of the first half, the Big Red and the Battling Bishops were knotted up at eight apiece. In the second half, Ohio Wesleyan tacked on four unanswered goals to go up by four with just over 18 minutes left in regulation. Despite falling behind by four, Denison continued to find ways to cut into the Battling Bishops' lead, scoring four unassisted goals in the final minute of the third and in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for Denison, some untimely turnovers proved to be costly at the end, and with time winding down and still down by two goals, the Big Red couldn't get past the stifling Ohio Wesleyan defense, resulting in the Big Red's 15-13 defeat.

Pacing Denison's scoring was Collin Murphy with three goals, followed by Liam Gillard, Tommy Quinson, and Kevin Berutich with two apiece. Tacking on the final four goals were Michael Cassidy, Jack Hines, Macky Peck, and Brady Monturio. Murphy, Cassidy, Hines, Berutich, and Peck each finished the day with one assist. Defensively, Charlie Haight led the Big Red in caused turnovers with three, followed by Owen Holder, AJ Boxler, and Jacob Campen with two caused turnovers apiece. In goal for the Big Red was Andrew Albert, who finished regulation with ten saves for Denison, while the Battling Bishops' Nathan George tallied 14 saves for the day.

Throughout this rivalry matchup, the two teams mirrored each other statistically in several categories. Both teams finished the afternoon 20-for-21 in clear attempts; the Battling Bishops tallied 15 caused turnovers, while the Big Red totaled 16. And although Denison held a 42 to 38 edge in shots and a 27 to 25 shots on goal advantage, Ohio Wesleyan's scoring efficiency ultimately outweighed the Big Red's.Despite the close loss, Denison did still hold a 38-31 advantage in groundballs and won 21 of the 32 faceoffs throughout the match.

Up Next
Denison returns to Granville to host the College of Wooster on Wednesday, April 30, for the NCAC men's lacrosse tournament semifinals. The Fighting Scots and the Big Red take to the field at 4 p.m.