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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein men's basketball team came away with a thrilling home victory Friday evening inside the Rike Center, outlasting Denison University by a score of 69-67 on day one of its annual Smokey Ballenger Tournament.

The Cardinals, 1-2 on the season, advance to take on Marian University (Ind.) in Saturday's championship at 3 p.m. The Knights took down Hanover College, 67-50, in the opening game of the evening.

Both sides traded baskets throughout a rather close first half that featured four lead changes. Denison (1-1) opened a seven-point lead almost midway through the frame but Otterbein stayed close, eventually going into halftime down 37-34 after a put-back layup from Grant Fenner beat the buzzer.

The Big Red remained on top almost the entire second half, trying to pull away but never actually getting ahead by more than six as a pesky Cardinal team continued to counterpunch. Otterbein tied the game, 52-52, on a layup from guard Trey Miller with 9:39 remaining, but Denison scored on its ensuing trip and continued clinging to its lead.

Otterbein pulled to within a point on five separate occasions down the stretch, not taking the lead until a layup from guard Jake Phillis put the Tan and Cardinal ahead, 66-65, with 2:11 to play. The Bid Red regained a one-point cushion as the game clocked ticked under 1:00, but Phillis would have the last laugh by nailing a clutch three-pointer with 33 seconds left, shortly after bringing the ball across half-court, to give his team the lead for good.

"I was coming up the floor and my defender was back off a little, so I just decided to shoot," Phillis said. "It all goes to Coach Oilar having confidence in me to take that shot and make it. I just felt like I could make a play in that moment."

Denison missed a potential go-ahead layup with six seconds remaining, and Phillis corralled the rebound before launching it to the other end of the court to help time expire.

"We got punched in the mouth Tuesday night at Wittenberg, but went back to practice and didn't feel sorry for ourselves," said Otterbein head coach Brian Oilar, who picks up the first win of his career. "We didn't play a perfect game tonight, by any means, but we found a way to win. I think that's a sign of a team headed in the right direction."

Phillis led all scorers with 24 points, going 8 of 16 from the field and connecting on four three-pointers. He also had five rebounds and two steals in 37 minutes.

Fenner contributed nicely with 10 points off the bench while senior Marc McCuen also scored 10 of his own to go along with a team-high six rebounds.

Miller also performed admirably off the bench, tallying eight points, a game-high three steals and a few other critical hustle plays on both ends of the floor.

David Meuer dropped 17 to lead the Big Red, which shot 49 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Cardinals 37-28. Denison post player Jett Speelman battled foul trouble throughout most of the first half before ultimately managing to finish with 15 points and tie teammate Matthew Bauer for a game-best nine boards.

Both teams missed six free throws and went a combined 10 of 33 from beyond the arc.