DELAWARE, Ohio – The Ohio Wesleyan University men's basketball team returned home to Branch Rickey Arena on Wednesday to host conference-rival Denison for some New Year's Eve hoops. The Battling Bishops played a competitive game and claiming their first conference victory looked like a possibility with a 29-27 halftime lead, but in the end the Red and Black came up just short, 65-60.

OWU drops to 3-8 on the season and 0-3 in the NCAC. Denison moves to 7-4 overall and 2-0 in conference play.

The Bishops competed well throughout the entire game, especially the first half where they maintained a slight lead. Peyton Frey led the way in the first 20 minutes with nine points, followed by James McCarthy with six and Kevin Gallagher with five. 

Ohio Wesleyan would keep their composure down the stretch despite falling as much as nine points behind in the second half. Realistically, the Bishops had chances to tie the game up in the final moments but their chances would ultimately fall offline leading to a five-point loss after being forced to foul to save time, 65-60.

THE NUMBERS
Peyton Frey finished with 18 points – tying his second-highest output of the season – along with four rebounds, four assists, and one block.

Kevin Gallagher and James McCarthy tallied nine points each. Gallagher also had two assists and one steal while McCarthy heeded two rebounds, one assist, and one steal.

Isaac Ward scored eight points and added four rebounds and two steals.

Jake Lowman managed six points with one rebound and one steal.

Jessee Battle ended his night with four points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and two steals.

Phil Wallace made his season debut, scoring three points with two rebounds, one assist, and one block.

Quinn Hart totaled three points and one rebound.

UP NEXT
The Battling Bishops will be back at Branch Rickey Arena on Saturday, playing host to Oberlin at 3 p.m.