Ohio Wesleyan 83, Denison 77
Senior wing Tim Brady (Dublin/Jerome) hit a pair of 3-pointers and sophomore post Reuel Rogers (Columbus/Bexley) added a pair of timely free throws down the stretch as Ohio Wesleyan defeated Denison in a key North Coast Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.
With the win, Ohio Wesleyan clinches the No. 3 seed in the upcoming NCAC tournament and will host Hiram at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Branch Rickey Arena.
After trailing by as many as 8 points, the Big Red had closed to within 67-65 after 4 straight free throws by Larry Farmer, the latter pair coming with 3:12 left in regulation time.
On Ohio Wesleyan's ensuing possession, Brady buried a 3-pointer to put the Bishops up by 5, and after a Denison miss, Rogers sank a pair of free throws for a 72-65 Bishop lead with 2:24 to play.
Denison came back with a 3-pointer by Jon Akpapunam, but Brady answered with a 3-pointer on the other end to push the lead back to 7 points with 1:42 remaining.
The Bishops would seal the game at the free throw line, with junior guard Andy Winters (Columbus/Bishop Watterson), junior guard Eric Easley (Columbus/Thomas Worthington), Brady, junior wing Vaughn Spaulding (Reynoldsburg), and junior post Marshall Morris (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks) each hitting free throws. Ohio Wesleyan led by as many as 9 points and did not allow the margin to slip below 6 points during the remainder of the contest.
The first half was a back-and-fourth affair that featured 15 lead changes and 9 ties. Neither team led by more than 4 points until Denison's Brett Tiberi hit a 3-pointer for a 35-30 Big Red lead with 3:09 left in the period.
Ohio Wesleyan answered by closing out the half with a 9-0 run to take the lead for good. Sophomore wing Dre White (Lima/Bath) hit a free throw and Morris followed with a lay-in before a White 3-point play gave the Bishops a 36-35 lead with :47 left. Brady finished off the half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that made it 39-35, and the Bishops would extend the margin to 47-39 early in the second half with the help of 3-pointers by Brady and junior post Greg White (Centerville).
Denison closed to within 47-46 as Larry Farmer collected a pair of hoops and Tiberi contributed a 3-point play, but Easley responded with a 3-point play on the other end. Bret Woolard's jumper brought the Big Red back to within a deuce, but again the Bishops had an answer as Dre White came up with a 3-point play to move the lead back to 53-48 with 14:26 to go, and Rogers' bucket at the 10:58 mark made it a 55-48 game.
The Big Red fought back once more, cutting the deficit to 57-55 after Briggs King kicked in a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws, but Rogers came back with a free throw and then Brady knifed in front of a King pass and took off for a fast-break dunk, and after Winters followed with a 3-point play, the Bishops had a 63-55 lead with 6:20 to go.
Brady led the Bishops with 32 points, while Winters and Morris added 10 points apiece. Rogers led the Bishops with 10 rebounds and Winters had a team-high 6 assists.
Dimonde Hale had 21 points for Denison, Farmer finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Jim Leffew had 11 points.
Box Score
