GRANVILLE, OH – The Denison University men's basketball team hit 12 three-pointers and erased a late deficit to defeat Case Western Reserve University, 78-70, on Tuesday, November 23 at Livingston Gymnasium.
With the loss, the Spartans fall to 1-3 overall and will return to action this Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 27-28, at the John Steadman Classic hosted by John Carroll University. With the win, Denison improves to 3-2.
The Spartans got out to a quick 9-2 lead when senior wing Reid Anderson (Avon Lake, OH/St. Edward) nailed a fast-break three-pointer at the 16:28 mark. Denison tied the score at 15 apiece on a Larry Farmer triple at 11:48, but Case quickly answered with a 7-0 run ending in a layup by senior center Eric Duerr (Gibsonia, PA/Pine-Richland) with 8:59 left in the half. The lead grew to a high of nine, at 33-24, when freshman point guard Mike Byrne (Newton, PA/Holy Ghost) scored a jumper with 2:19 remaining before intermission. The Big Red was able to trim three off of its deficit, and went into half behind, 37-31.
Case led for most of the second half until Denison tied the score at 45 when Farmer connected on another three-pointer with 13:50 remaining. The Big Red then moved ahead 49-47 with two Farmer free throws at 12:41, but the Spartans answered with a 6-0 run and led 53-49 when Duerr hit two free throws at 9:45.
The lead changed hands several more times before a Duerr jumper at 2:39 tied the game at 68-68. From there, Denison got two more three-pointers from Mike Garabedian and Jim Leffew to counter another Duerr jumper, then hit four free throws down the stretch to grab the 78-70 win.
Anderson led the Spartans with 17 points, while Duerr totaled 16 points, six rebounds and four blocks. Dimonde Hale led four Denison players in double-figures with 18 points. The Big Red shot 48.0 percent (12-of-25) from three-point range.
The Spartans open weekend action versus Olivet College (MI) at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. The consolation and championship games are set for 1:00 and 3:00 p.m., respectively, on Sunday.