GAMBIER, Ohio –The Kenyon Lords (7-16, 4-12 NCAC) basketball team kept its postseason hopes alive behind the strength of its shooting on Saturday afternoon, topping the DePauw University Tigers 90-68 in a North Coast Athletic Conference contest at Tomsich Arena.
 
The game marked the fifth time this season the Lords scored at least 90 points, while both their field goal percentage (37-for-59; 62.7 percent) and three-point field goal percentage (14-for-23; 60.9 percent) ranked fourth-best in program history.
 
It was a high-scoring battle early in the contest as the teams traded the lead before settling at a Kenyon 28-26 advantage with 6:31 left in the half. The next 10 points all went to the Lords with baskets from Will Sigl, Alex Laub, Ben Stern and Matt Shifrin.
 
The Tigers hit a three-point shot from Mason Hankins to claw back and put the score at 38-29 with 2:52 to play in the half. Phillip Crampton then scored seven points for the Lords on three consecutive possessions before a Shifrin layup brought the halftime score to 47-29.
 
In sum, the run lasted the final 6:31 of the half and Kenyon surrendered just three points while scoring 19. Shifrin led all scorers with 15 at the break while Crampton finished with 12. The pairing combined to shoot 11-for-12 from the field, including 5-for-6 from three-point range.
 
Kenyon edged out DePauw in the second half by a 43-39 margin and never let the visitors cut the lead to any more than 15. The Lords got a strong effort out of Alexander Powell, who led the Lords with 11 in the second half, shooting 3-for-3 from three-point range in a 14-minute stretch.
 
Overall, the Lords defense held DePauw to under 40 percent from the field (23-for-58; 39.7 percent). The team also finished with 17 assists to just seven turnovers and outrebounded the Tigers 32-27.
 
Four Lords finished in double figures: Shifrin with 18, Crampton contributed 15, Powell dropped 14 and Stern chipped in with 13. Carter Powell and Ryan O'Neil both had at least five assists, with the former recording six dimes. Six different Lords each hit a three-pointer in the contest.
 
The Lords pulled even with Oberlin College in the NCAC standings with its win coupled with Oberlin's loss on Saturday. Both teams are tied for the final postseason spot with two games left in the regular season. The Lords will travel to The College Wooster on Wednesday before closing out the season with Senior Day against Hiram College next Saturday.