Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 77, Denison 56

Junior guard Taylor Rieger (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange) scored back-to-back baskets during an 8-0 second-half run that helped 24th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan break open a win over Denison in a North Coast Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday at Branch Rickey Arena.

The win not only advanced the Bishops to the NCAC tournament semifinals, but was Ohio Wesleyan's 20th of the season, marking the first time in school history that the Bishops have racked up consecutive 20-win seasons.

Ohio Wesleyan, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will face third-seeded Kenyon in a semifinal matchup at 6 p.m. on Friday at Wooster.  The other semifinal pits top-seeded Wooster against fifth-seeded Wittenberg, an upset winner over DePauw on Tuesday.

The Big Red started quickly, getting 3-pointers from Briggs King and Darius White to open the evening's scoring.

The Bishops missed their first 7 shots, finally getting on the scoreboard on a Rieger jumper more than 3 minutes into the contest, but Denison answered with another King 3-pointer to take a 9-2 lead.

Ohio Wesleyan then went on a 21-7 tear, turning the 7-point deficit into a 7-point lead behind 3-pointers from senior guard Andy Winters (Columbus/Bishop Watterson), Rieger, and freshman post Claude Gray (Avon), along with lay-ins from senior wing Vaughn Spaulding (Reynoldsburg), Winters, and Gray.

Denison again turned to the outside shot, collecting a pair of trifectas from White and another from King to take a 25-23 lead, and later in the half, it was a Jon Akpapunam 3-pointer and a King lay-in that tied the game at 32 with 2:28 to play.

Winters responded with a 3-pointer on Ohio Wesleyan's next possession, and added a lay-in to give the Bishops a 37-32 advantage at the half. 

Another White 3-pointer brought Denison within 40-39 less than 3 minutes into the second half, but Ohio Wesleyan threatened to run away with the game with a 13-2 run that featured 6 points by Rieger and a 3-pointer and a lay-in from Gray.

The Big Red rallied to within 7 points on a pair of occasions, the latter at 59-52 with 7:52 remaining in regulation time.

Senior post Marshall Morris (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks) sank a pair of free throws at the 6:49 mark, and Rieger followed with back-to-back jumpers before Gray's fast-break lay-in extended the Bishop lead to 67-52 with 4:21 to go.

Alex Longi's jumper ended Denison's scoreless string of nearly 4 minutes, but that was as close as the Big Red would come.

Rieger led the Bishops with 23 points, while Gray finished with a season-high 20 markers, connecting on 8 of 11 shots.  Winters finished with a double-double, posting 14 points and 12 assists, and Morris grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds.

White led the Big Red with 15 points.

Box Score