Box Score
DELAWARE, Ohio – The Kenyon College men's basketball team's postseason hopes were dashed by Ohio Wesleyan University with a 78-67 loss at Branch Rickey Arena in the opening round of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, Tuesday night. The host Battling Bishops had control from the onset and never relinquished the lead. The Lords' 2013-14 season ends with a final record of 12-14 overall.
The Bishops initiated a 14-5 run out of the gate fueled by consecutive three-pointers from Claude Clark. Kenyon fought to keep the lead to single digits with buckets by Ikenna Nwadibia and Jonathan Amador shortly after that, but Gray kept the hot hand going while getting aid from teammates Seth Clark and Reuel Rogers. Rogers' dunk served as the high point of an eight-point run that further distanced OWU from Kenyon, 35-17 heading into the final minutes of the opening half.
Kenyon struggled shooting in the first, hitting just 9-of-30 shots (.300) from the field. Senior Julian Pavlin led the Lords with nine first-half points on 4-of-7 shooting, while Nwadibia followed closely behind with seven.
While Kenyon shot nearly 17 percent better from all areas of the court in the second half, the Lords were unable to overcome a 14-point deficit taken into the locker room. The lead grew to as many as 19 points with another three-pointer by Gray. It was one of four long-distance makes he finished with on the evening. Only with seven minutes left in the game did Kenyon begin to chip away at the Bishops' lead, but the hosts answered by bettering Kenyon's shooting percentage by hitting exactly 50 percent of their second-half attempts. Ohio Wesleyan (20-6) marched to victory, 78-67.
The Bishops gained an advantage and exploited the interior by outscoring Kenyon 34-14 in the paint. Gray led OWU with a team-high 21 points though only shot 6-for-14 from the field. He was one of four Bishops to finish the game in double digits joined by Clark (18), Rogers (12), and Taylor Rieger (10).
Ohio Wesleyan will now play the College of Wooster in the NCAC Tournament semifinals on Friday, Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. The duration of the men's tournament will be played at Wooster's Timken Arena.
The loss closes out the 2013-14 campaign as well as the careers of four Lords seniors. Brian Lebowitz turned it up in the second half to finish with a game-high 23 points (7-15) and was one rebound shy of 10th double-double effort, recording a team-best nine boards. He will leave Kenyon the program's all-time leader in blocked shots (162).
Pavlin finished the night with 21 points behind nine made field goals, three from distance. Nwadibia scored nine points and notched eight rebounds, while Cameron Bell hit the floor for two minutes and grabbed one rebound.
