Jeremy Stuhlfauth

Senior post Jeremy Stuhlfauth's (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone) career night lifted the Denison men's basketball team to a thrilling 92-82 overtime victory over Case Western Reserve University on Tuesday night in Livingston Gymnasium. The senior logged his second-career double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs.

The two squads were evenly matched throughout most of the contest. Down 3-2 early in the game the Big Red rattled off seven unanswered to retake the lead. The run was headlined by four tallies from first-year Jim Leffew (Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Veach). The Spartans battled back from the deficit to tie the game up at 16-16 with 12:30 remaining in the opening half. Both teams battled back-and-forth with neither able to sustain a lead. Facing another one-point deficit (32-31) with just under five left in the half, DU engineered a 10-2 run highlighted by nine points from Stuhlfauth en route to taking a 41-34 advantage with 1:40 remaining before the intermission. Case's Steve Young single-handily cut the margin to two with a half minute left in the first but a jumper by senior guard Pat Sullivan (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) at the buzzer gave Denison a 43-39 lead heading into the locker room.

The Big Red opened up the second half by outscoring the Spartans 12-8 to expand their lead to eight (53-45). However, Case battled back over the next four minutes and a Tom Summers' free throw trimmed the gap to 55-54. As the half progressed every time Denison started to pull away Case posted a small run to keep themselves in the contest. Down by five with 8:34 left in regulation, the Spartans went on a 7-2 burst to tie the game at 63-63. Case Western's Kevin Herring led the charge with four tallies including the game-tying jumper. The teams continued their power struggle for control of the game and with the game deadlocked at 68-68 the Spartans, fueled by another four-point burst from Herring, took their largest lead of the game at 72-68.

Needing a lift late in the game Denison turned to their senior guard Sullivan to take charge, and take charge he did. The senior scored back-to-back layups to tie the game back up, and a basket by sophomore Larry Farmer (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) gave the lead back to the Big Red.

Following a free throw by Eric Duerr to make it a one-point affair (74-73), the Spartans' Herring drained a three-pointer with 52 ticks on the clock to swing the momentum back in favor of Case. However, the man of the hour Stuhlfauth hit two of his next four foul shots to send the game into an extra session.

Denison inched themselves to an early three-point lead to start off the OT period, but a free throw by Reid Anderson and a layup by Herring tied the contest at 79-all. However, that is as close as Case would get as the Big Red went on a 13-3 burst to solidify their first victory of the season. In the five-minute overtime period Stuhlfauth turned into a man possessed. The senior post player scored six of the squads 16 tallies and grabbed five boards. Junior Chris Luther (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) also dropped six in the extra frame.

In addition to Stuhlfauth's 22 points, Farmer and Luther finished the game with 18 each while Leffew added 13 and Sullivan chipped in 12. Farmer also helped on the glass with a season-high nine rebounds. Two big keys to the victory were the squad's work on the glass and their ability to take advantage of their trips to the charity stripe. Denison out-rebounded their opponent for the first time this year, holding a 47-44 edge over Case Western Reserve. The Big Red was also phenomenal at the line shooting 86 percent (24-of-28).

For the Spartans, Anderson led the way with 23 tallies while Young added 19. Herring finished the night with 16 points and 12 rebounds while Summers contributed 14 tallies.

Denison improves to 1-2 on the season while Case Western falls to 0-4. The Big Red returns to action on Sunday (Nov. 30) when they host Capital. Tip-off in Granville, Ohio is scheduled for 4 p.m.