Box Score GREENCASTLE, Ind. – Locked in a 59-59 tie with three minutes to go against the host DePauw University Tigers, the Kenyon College men's basketball team put together a clutch performance at the free throw line to seal a 68-64 victory in what was the first North Coast Athletic Conference game of the season for both teams.

Kenyon sophomore Cooper Handelsman tossed in a reverse layup to break the tie and push the Lords out to a 61-59 advantage. DePauw's Connor Rich retaliated with a three-pointer, but on the Lords' next trip down the floor, Handelsman converted a pair of free throws to give Kenyon the lead for good.

Julian Pavlin added two more free throws for the Lords, who now had a 65-62 cushion with 1:14 remaining. After the teams traded turnovers, DePauw pulled within one point on a layup from Barry Flynn. Pavlin answered again with another set of free throws to put the Lords up by three. Finally, with ten seconds left, Ikenna Nwadibia put the game away by sinking one of his two free throw attempts.

Kenyon (4-2, 1-0 NCAC), which is off to its best start since the 2008-09 campaign, connected on seven of its final eight free throws and finished the game 16-of-22 (72.7 percent) at the stripe. The momentum from the line carried over to the field, where the Lords shot a season-best 24-of-45 (53.3 percent).

Except for a few swings, the contest was kept close. Kenyon went on an 11-0 run to open a ten-point lead in the first half, but by the time the Lords got to the break they trailed by six (30-24), which was the Tigers' largest lead. For all but the first minute of the second half, the teams remained within four points of each other. When all was said and done, the crowd witnessed 13 tied scores and 15 lead changes.

For the second straight game, Pavlin led Kenyon in scoring by tying his career-best of 16 points. He was 5-of-10 from the floor, with two three-pointers, and 4-of-6 at the line. Pavlin also notched four assists and four steals. John Bray,  who was 6-of-8 from the floor, scored 13 points, and Handelsman added 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor and 3-of-3 shooting at the line.

DePauw (4-2, 0-1 NCAC), which swept the season series from Kenyon last year, was led by Flynn. He finished with a career-high 26 points.