Chris Luther scored 20 points helping the Big Red to their third straight victory.

Chris Luther (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) scored 20 points and contributed some big shots down the stretch as Denison held off Allegheny 67-64 on Saturday from the David Wise Center in Meadville, Pa.

Denison led by 11 points at halftime and was clinging to an 8-point lead with 9:51 remaining in the game after a basket by DU guard Casey Stockton (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer).  The Gators would counter with a 9-0 run that would put the home team in front, 52-51 with 6:32 left in the game.

Over the next four minutes both squads would take turns owning the lead until a Pat Sullivan layup put DU up three with three minutes to play. Things were looking good for the Big Red until Allegheny's Charlie Jaicks knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:08 to play which gave the lead back to Allegheny at 62-61.

On their next possession Luther would split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 62-62 and after a defensive stop Denison's Brett Tiberi (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) would be fouled by Allegheny's George Raftis with 1:13 left.  Tiberi, who was just 3-for-3 from the free throw line this season entering the contest, calmy knocked down both charity tosses to give Denison a two point lead.  Another Allegheny miss combined with a Luther basket put the Big Red up four points with 34 seconds to play.

Allegheny would take over possession and force a foul in the paint, sending Raftis to the line where he cut the Denison lead to two with 13 seconds to play.  A quick foul would send Luther to the line with a chance to ice the win for the Big Red.  He connected on the first but missed the second and Price coralled the rebound for the Gators.  Without calling a timeout Allegheny streaked down the court and Jaicks lifted a potential game-tying 3-pointer that was off the mark as time expired.

Luther led Denison with 20 points off 6-of-13 shooting in just 18 minutes.  Balance and depth were the key for DU as 11 players logged at least 13 minutes of action.  As a team the Big Red shot 50 percent from the field and were 6-for-17 from beyond the arc.

Allegheny was paced by Raftis' 30-point nine rebound effort.  He was 11-for-18 from the field and 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.  Craig Devinney followed with 18 points.

Denison improves to 6-13 overall and 3-7 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Allegheny drops to 7-12 and 3-7 in league play.  The Big Red will return to action on Wednesday (Feb. 4) when they host Kenyon at 7:30 p.m.