DELAWARE – Ninth-ranked Ohio Wesleyan University used a barrage of three-point shooting in the first half to ignite the Battling Bishops to a convincing 96-62 win over the visiting Kenyon College Lords (3-5, 1-3 NCAC) Saturday afternoon in a North Coast Athletic Conference men's hoops game at Branch Rickey Arena.
 
Things were close a little over five minutes into the first half as Phillip Crampton hit a free throw and brought the score to 10-7, OWU. But after the early tussle, the Battling Bishops began to find their stride from beyond the arc.
 
With a three-point lead, Ohio Wesleyan (9-1, 3-1 NCAC) went on a 14-2 run and secured a 24-9 lead over the Lords with 12 minutes left in the half. OWU's Claude Gray hit a trio of three-balls during that stretch which saw Kenyon miss three shots and turn the ball over twice.
 
The Lords looked for a response; however, the early Battling Bishops run was an indicator of how the rest of the first half went for the home team.
 
OWU saw their lead balloon to as many as 34 points (50-16) following two free throws from Ben Simpson with 3:27 left in the half.
 
OWU was lights-out from distance in the opening stanza hitting 11-of-20 (55%). On the flipside, Kenyon struggled to score as they connected on just 8-of-28 (28.6%) from the field. At the break, Ohio Wesleyan led 55-22.
 
Kenyon improved its offensive output in the second half despite OWU maintaining a substantial lead.
 
The Lords shot 37.1% from the field and hit 5-of-12 (41.7%) from three-point range. Sophomore Alexander Powell totaled all of his points (10) in the second frame while Brien Comey added nine points which brought his team-high total to 13 by game's end.
 
Next up for the Lords is trip to nearby Mount Vernon Nazarene University December 30 with tipoff set for 7 p.m.