Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball: Second half OWU run quells Big Red upset bid
Larry Farmer scored 16 points at Ohio Wesleyan
Date: January 5, 2008
Location: DELAWARE, Ohio
The Big Red took a one-point lead into the locker room at halftime but a 12-4 Ohio Wesleyan run early in the second half combined with an 8-0 burst in the closing minutes of play helped held off Denison for a 83-70 victory at Branch Rickey Arena.
Denison came out strong in the first half thanks to an inspired defensive effort and the play of freshman Larry Farmer who knocked down his first six shot attempts. A three-point play by Farmer combined with a 3-pointer by Chris Eberst (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) gave DU a 33-27 lead with 6:39 left in the first half.
OWU would counter with an 11-1 run but a Chris Luther (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) and a pair of Pat Sullivan (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) gave DU a 39-38 lead at the end of the first half.
Junior center Jeremy Stuhlfauth (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone), who finished the day with 11 points and 11 rebounds, opened the second half with a jumper, giving Denison a 41-38 lead, but Ohio Wesleyan's Dustin Rudegeair and Casey Teeters would counter with back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Bishops the lead for good.
Denison's last gasp came with just under three minutes remaining when a pair of Luther free throws cut OWU's lead to five. Jessie Jean would answer the threat with a layup pushing the lead back out to 77-70 with 2:19 remaining. Down the stretch, OWU would go 6-for-6 from the free throw line to seal up with win.
Denison shot the ball well, going 26-for-53 from the field (.491) and were 6-of-9 from 3-point range. The Bishops connected on 30-of-62 shots for 48 percent and both teams were 12-for-14 from the charity stripe. The Big Red committed 10 turnovers to Ohio Wesleyan's five and the Bishops edged DU in the rebounding department, 30-27.
Sullivan led Denison with 17 points and five assists in 37 minutes. Farmer added 16 points off a 7-for-10 shooting performance and Brian Elder (Granville, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) chipped in nine points off the bench.
Rudegeair scored a career-high 25 points for OWU and went over the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Jean added 16 points and 13 rebounds.
The Big Red will travel to Oberlin on Wednesday (Jan. 9) for a 7 p.m. game with the Yeomen.