Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball: Big Red Breaks Through With Win Over Earlham
Chris Luther scored 13 points and went 8-for-8 from the free throw line as Denison defeated Earlham College.
Date: January 30, 2008
Location: RICHMOND, Ind.
"Relax and focus on the fundamentals."
It's just little bit of sage advice that coaches share with their athletes when the breaks just aren't falling their favor.
After scratching and clawing their way through defeats in the first 17 contests of the 2007-08 season it's almost fitting that the most fundamental part of the game of basketball would be the key that unlocked the door to that elusive first victory for the Denison Big Red.
On Wednesday night in Richmond, Ind. Denison defeated Earlham College 55-49 thanks to a clutch 21-for-23 shooting performance from the free throw line.
The Big Red did not have a stellar shooting night (15-for-45 from the field), but they did keep their turnovers at a reasonable total while crashing the boards and playing their usual level of tenacious defense.
Denison led by two at the half and took the early advantage in the second half when Chris Eberst (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) drilled a 3-pointer with 14:43 to play, giving the Big Red a five-point lead.
Earlham's Tarrell Berry would answer Eberst's 3-pointer but a pair of free throws by Chris Luther (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) and a driving layup by Caleb McFerren (Zanesville, Ohio/Zanesville) would put DU back up four with just over 13 minutes to go.
After an Earlham miss the next time down the floor, Eberst would follow with one of the game's biggest baskets, a 3-pointer off a feed from Luther, which gave DU their largest lead of the game at 37-30.
The Big Red would continue to keep Earlham at an arms length throughout the remainder of the contest, but for every Quaker field goal, DU answered with a dose of clutch free throw shooting.
Over the final six minutes of play Denison went 13-of-14 from the charity stripe. They were led in scoring by Luther who finished with 13 points and was 8-for-8 from the line. Eberst finished with 11 points and was 5-for-5 from the stripe while McFerren chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds while hitting 3-of-4 free throw attempts.
Denison outrebounded the Quakers 34-29 while committing 13 turnovers to Earlham's 12.
The Big Red will continue their North Coast Athletic Conference schedule on Saturday (Feb. 2) when they host Allegheny College at 4 p.m.
See the full game statistics