Box Score
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (February 21, 2012) If being the No. 8 seed in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament meant the Kenyon College men's basketball team was supposed to go quietly against top-seeded Wittenberg University, no one bothered to tell the Lords. Kenyon held the lead for more than 11 minutes of the second half before the Tigers rallied for a 73-61 victory.
Instead of sitting on their 29-27 halftime lead, the Lords used the momentum gained from surprising Wittenberg at the break to build and even bigger lead. Sophomore Julian Pavlin canned a couple of three-pointers and senior Anthony Chun also connected from long distance to fuel a quick, 9-4 run that gave Kenyon a 38-31 lead early in the second period.
Pavlin, who scored all eight of his points in the second half, drilled another jumper at the 13:20 mark to keep the Lords' lead at seven (43-36), but the Tigers were about to pounce. Wittenberg went on a 7-0 run to tie the score with 10:46 remaining. Kenyon held the Tigers back for another minute or so only to see momentum turn for good at the 9:25 mark. Michael Cooper buried a crucial three-point shot that kick-started a 9-0 Wittenberg run. Josh McKee scored the other six points during the spurt to open up a 55-47 lead for the Tigers with 6:41 left.
Chun hit another three-ball and sophomore Ikenna Nwadibia followed with another field goal to keep the Lords within five, 57-52. Wittenberg was just too much in the final five minutes, though, and outscored Kenyon, 16-9, to survive the scare.
The No. 17-ranked Tigers fended off the Lords at the free throw line, where they hit 14-of-17 (82.3 percent) attempts down the stretch. Wittenberg's ability to get to the charity stripe and convert the opportunities ultimately turned the game. The Tigers went 24-of-29 (82.8 percent) in the second half and 30-of-37 (81.1 percent) for the game. Conversely, Kenyon made 20 trips to the line and knocked down 12 shots (60.0 percent).
Nwadibia recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and ten rebounds. He led the team in points (396) and rebounds (228) in a breakout sophomore campaign. Chun went out on a high note in his final game in the Purple and White with a 15-point, five-steal performance. He finished his career with 124 steals, the sixth-most all-time at Kenyon.
Sophomore Brian Lebowitz gave the Lords three scorers in double-digits with 11 points, but Wittenberg held him in check on the boards by limiting him to four rebounds - half of his average output. Lebowitz made up for it with three blocks to run his season total to 43 swats, a total that ranks fourth in program history.
Kenyon finished its season with an 11-15 record, a two-win improvement over last year. The 21-5 Tigers will host the final two rounds of the NCAC Tournament this weekend and draw Denison University in the semifinals Friday night.
