#18 Tartans Lose Close Contest at Denison, 79-78

(GRANVILLE, Oh.) – The Carnegie Mellon men's basketball, ranked 18th nationally, traveled to Denison University on Saturday and dropped a 78-79 decision, putting them at 2-1 overall as Denison moves to 2-0.

Game Information
Carnegie Mellon 78, Denison 79
Records: Carnegie Mellon (2-1), Denison (2-0)
Location: Granville, Ohio (The Mitchell Center)

How it Happened

• Denison took the early lead, scoring the first nine points of the contest.
• The Tartans then scored 11 consecutive points with a series of plays including a three-point jump shot from both junior Justin Allen and junior Buckley DeJardin.
• Denison scored eight consecutive points to take a 20-13 lead.
• With two layups and a floating jump shot from Allen, a layup from sophomore Isaac Higgs and a three-pointer from senior Nolan Casey, the Tartans took the lead again, 24-20 with nine minutes to play in the first half.
• With five minutes remaining in the first half, DeJardin scored his second three-pointer, tying the score at 27-all.
• The teams stayed neck-and-neck, until two minutes remaining when Denison broke a 35-35 tie, scoring six consecutive points. At the end of the first half, Denison led 41-35.
• Denison stayed narrowly ahead of the Tartans until nine minutes remaining, when Allen pulled the Tartans ahead 62-61 with two free throws.
• With 3:33 remaining, DeJardin connected on a jumper and a free throw, bringing the Tartans to 71-70 in favor of the home team.
• Graduate student R.J. Holmes drained a three-pointer with two minutes remaining to give the Tartans the lead at 73-71.
• A driving layup with 1:08 on the clock by Holmes gave that Tartans a 77-74 advantage,
• Following a pair of free throws from Denison's Ricky Radtke that pulled the Big Red to with in a point, Allen converted one-of-two free throws to give Carnegie Mellon 78-76 lead with 21 seconds remaining.
• Denison's Kellon Smith drained a three-pointer from the corner with 11 seconds remaining to give the Big Red a 79-78 lead.
• The Tartans had two shots in the closing seconds of the game, but both fell short.

Tartan Stats

• The Tartans shot 52.0% (13-25) in the first half and 55.2% (16-29) in the second half. They converted 10-of-24 from behind the arc for 41.7%.
• Allen led the Tartans with 24 points, converting 9-of-19 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the foul line. The junior also dished out five assists.
• Holmes had team highs of nine rebounds and three blocks. He also had 15 points and four assists.
• DeJardin converted 4-of-6 from behind the arc, as well as 5-of-9 from the floor for 16 points.

Big Red Stats

• Denison shot 50.0% (17-34) in the first half and 46.4% (13-28) in the second half. They converted 9-of-25 from behind the arc for 36%.
• Darren Rubin led with 21 total points and four assists. He also connected 4-of-7 from behind the arc.
• Kellon Smith had 16 total points and Ricky Radtke had 15.

Up Next

The Tartans will travel to Richmond, Indiana for the Earlham Classic hosted by Earlham College on Saturday, November 23.