Ohio Wesleyan 85, Denison 60

Jan. 7, 2009

Junior post Brent Pleiman (Russia) scored to kick off an 11-2 run that gave Ohio Wesleyan a double-digit lead, and the Bishops pulled away during the second half in taking a North Coast Athletic Conference win over Denison on Wednesday in Granville.

Ohio Wesleyan opened the scoring with a 3-pointer by senior wing Kyle Miller (Delaware/Hayes) and soon opened up an 8-2 lead after a Pleiman jumper and a 3-pointer by junior guard Rob Gardiner (Dublin/Coffman).

The Big Red closed to within 10-6 on a basket by Larry Farmer just under 5 minutes into the game before the Bishops took off on their 11-2 spurt.

Pleiman scored from inside to start the Bishop run, and after Denison's Mike Garabedian hit a free throw, Ohio Wesleyan countered with a pair of baskets by sophomore post Andrew Martin (New Albany). A Farmer free throw made it a 16-8 game, but the Bishops answered with a bucket by sophomore guard Mike Schwartz (Upper Arlington) and a 3-point play from freshman wing Tim Brady (Dublin/Jerome) for a 21-8 Bishop lead just past the midway point of the half.

Denison's Caleb McFerren converted a 3-point play with 9:35 left in the half, ending the Big Red's spell of nearly 6 minutes without a basket and bringing the hosts within 21-11, but Ohio Wesleyan got 3-pointers from senior wing Mitch Noggle (Dublin/Coffman) and Miller to push the lead to 27-11 with 6:54 left in the half.

Ohio Wesleyan would take that 16-point lead into the locker room at halftime, and the Big Red would come no closer than that during the second half.

Miller led the Bishops with 17 points and shared the team lead with 4 assists. Brady finished with 15 points, going 7-for-8 from the field, and Pleiman went 6-for-8 from the field on the way to 12 points. Freshman post Pat Pellerite (Olmsted Falls) led the Bishops with 9 rebounds, and senior wing Kyle Holliday (Van Wert) shared the team lead with 4 assists.

Pat Sullivan led Denison with 9 points.

Box Score