Denison, who advanced to the title game by defeated Alfred University (NY) on Thursday night, another double-double from senior Robb Hern and 22 points from junior Dan Hodgkinson, resulting in their first pair of back-to-back wins since late November.
With the score tied at 24-24 at the half, the two teams went back and forth for the first 15 minutes of the second half. With 5:04 remaining, Alma cut Denison’s lead to one at 49-48 after a pair of Drew Barnhart free throws. On the next trip down the floor, Hodgkinson was fouled by Alma’s Greg Nelson. He proceeded to knock down both charity tosses. Little did Alma know at the time, those free throws by Denison would set off an 8-0 Big Red run that would push their lead out to nine at 57-48 with 2:21 left.
A jumper by Barnhart stopped the DU scoring streak with 1:57 left but the final nail was pounded by sophomore guard Chris Eberst when his career-high fifth three point basket of the game dropped with 1:33 showing on the clock. The sharp shooting second year guard came off the bench and had a hot hand, going 5-of-11 from beyond the arc. His 15 points were also a career-high.
The free throw line was imperative to Denison’s success and that can be attributed to the Big Red’s tandem in the paint, Hern and Hodgkinson. The duo was a combined 19-of-22 from the free throw line. The team as a whole shot 86 percent (25-of-29) and over the final four minutes of the game four different players stepped to the line and knocked down 10 straight free throws.
Hodgkinson led all scorers with his 22 point, eight rebound effort. He was named the tournament’s most valuable player after totaling 37 points in the two games. Hern finished with his second consecutive double-double, scoring 13 points while pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds. He was named to the all-tournament team after totaling 28 points and 25 rebounds in the pair of games.
The Denison defense also managed to shine as bright as their championship trophy. They held Alma to just a 27 percent showing from the field (18-of-66). Cory Massey came off the bench to lead the way with 21 points and seven rebounds.
At 4-8, Denison will return to North Coast Athletic Conference action on Wednesday, Jan. 4 when they travel to Delaware, Ohio for a 7:30 p.m. match-up with Ohio Wesleyan.
Newspaper Box Score Denison University vs Alma College 12/30/05 4:15 p.m. at Horsburgh Gymnasium, Cleveland, Ohio At Horsburgh Gymnasium, Cleveland, Ohio DENISON UNIVERSITY 68, ALMA COLLEGE 56 DENISON UNIVERSITY (4-8) Dan Hodgkinson 6-12 10-12 22; Chris Eberst 5-12 0-0 15; Robb Hern 2-6 9-10 13; Brian Gognat 2-3 2-3 6; Jordan Krantz 1-3 0-0 3; Pat Sullivan 1-1 0-0 3; Shea McMahon 1-3 0-0 2; Dan Izzo 0-4 2-2 2; Mike Shea 0-2 2-2 2; Scott Ratermann 0-0 0-0 0; Lou Rohlfing 0-0 0-0 0; Brian Elder 0-0 0-0 0; Erik Huss 0-0 0-0 0; Steve Koecheler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-46 25-29 68. ALMA COLLEGE (6-4) Massey, Cory 6-12 7-8 21; Murphy, Mike 5-17 1-2 12; Barnhart, Drew 3-6 3-4 9; Nelson, Greg 2-10 0-1 5; McNally, David 1-4 2-3 5; Hill, Carl 1-6 0-2 2; Jervey, Nate 0-3 2-2 2; Latz, Jason 0-1 0-0 0; Brown, Matt 0-0 0-0 0; DeHaan, Ryan 0-1 0-0 0; Anthony, Fred 0-5 0-0 0; Sen, Bener 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 18-66 15-23 56. Denison University............ 24 44 - 68 Alma College.................. 24 32 - 56 3-point goals-Denison University 7-19 (Chris Eberst 5-11; Pat Sullivan 1-1; Jordan Krantz 1-3; Shea McMahon 0-1; Dan Izzo 0-1; Brian Gognat 0-1; Robb Hern 0-1), Alma College 5-29 (Massey, Cory 2-5; Nelson, Greg 1-6; Murphy, Mike 1-10; McNally, David 1-1; Latz, Jason 0-1; Anthony, Fred 0-2; Hill, Carl 0-3; Barnhart, Drew 0-1). Fouled out--Denison University-None, Alma College-None. Rebounds-Denison University 40 (Robb Hern 12), Alma College 44 (Massey, Cory 7). Assists-Denison University 16 (Dan Izzo 5; Brian Gognat 5), Alma College 10 (Nelson, Greg 4). Total fouls-Denison University 21, Alma College 27. A-89 Championship game of the 2005 Bill Sudeck Holiday Tournament at Case Western Reserve University