GAMBIER, Ohio -- Powered by a strong defensive showing early in the contest, the Kenyon College men's basketball team was able to coast to a 61-42 victory over the Albion College Britons in their home opener on Friday night. The 19-point margin of victory comes a year after Albion knocked off the Lords 86-85.
 
After a Corey Wheeler basket on their first possession, the Britons (0-1) would miss their next 15 shots to start the game shooting just 1-for-16 from the field. They would finish the half at 7-for-35 (20%), including a dismal 2-for-16 (12.5% from long range). The Lords also blocked three shots and out-rebounded Albion 27-21.
 
Bennett Grigull kept the Lords (2-0) afloat in the first half on the offensive end as the team raced out to a 19-2 lead. He knocked down four three-point field goals on five tries while scoring 14 points in 14 minutes. The rest of the team managed to score just 13 points on 5-for-21 shooting. Bennett's strong showing powered Kenyon to a 27-17 halftime advantage.
 
In the second half, Albion would get no closer than eight, a feat the Britons accomplished several times throughout the half. Each time though, Albion's run was stopped by Kenyon, and the Lords responded with a few buckets to regain the lead by double digits
 
On the last such occasion, Albion trailed 43-35 with 9:14 remaining in the game. Kenyon pushed the lead to 19 with a 13-2 run that spanned 5:52 on the clock. Ryan O'Neil connected on a three-point shot in back-to-back possessions. Ben Stern also hit a long range shot, which followed a Grigull jumper. 
 
Matt Shifrin capped off the run with a steal and transition layup, which all but sealed the Kenyon win as they lead 56-37 with 3:22 remaining. 
 
Grigull lead the way with 21 points, becoming the third Lords player to score 20 points in a game in the young season. Stern was the next leading scorer with nine. Carter Powell led the rebounding effort with 10 boards, followed closely by Grigull who missed his double-double by one rebound, collecting nine.
 
Powell's defensive effort was exemplary on Friday night. He held Albion's leading scorer, Wheeler, to an inefficient 5-for-16 shooting night while blocking three shots.
 
In total, the Lords shot 24-for-61 for 39.3 percent from the field. Kenyon also knocked down 10 triples, but did so on 10-of-35 shooting (28.6%). Albion never got going offensively, knocking down just 16 of its 66 shots (24.2%), including 6-of-30 (20%) from long range.
 
Kenyon will looking be looking for its first 3-0 start since the 1995-96 season when it hosts Trine University (0-1) tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 PM.