BEAVER FALLS, Pa, -- Kenyon College's Ugnius Zilinskas and Elijah Davis carried the Lords basketball team to a 65-61 win at Geneva College on Monday night in the season opener for both teams.
 
Zilinskas had 20 points and 11 rebounds while Davis added 18 points. As a team, the Lords were extremely efficient at the foul line, hitting 14-of-19 (73%).
 
Early in the game, the Golden Tornadoes got out to a 10-6 lead by hitting 5-of-7 shots including a pair of threes from Noah Damazo and Joel Stutz. That fast start fizzled, though, as the Lords picked up their defensive intensity.
 
From the 16:07 mark to 9:55, Kenyon used 15-5 run to take a 21-15 advantage. In that span, the Lords got a couple blocks from Alex Cate, and held the home squad to 1-of-7 shooting. On the offensive end, Zilinskas scored eight of the team's points on two three-pointers and two free throws.
 
Geneva stopped the bleeding with a quick 5-0 spurt, pulling the game to 21-20. They inched to within one again, 23-22, after an RJ Bell jumper. However, freshman Nick Lewis's three-ball at the 7:18 mark pushed Kenyon back up four, 26-22, and Geneva never got closer.
 
Over the final seven minutes of the half, the Lords outscored the hosts 13-6 and ended the stanza with a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Zilinskas to take a 39-28 lead into the locker room.
 
In the second half, Kenyon went dry but kept its lead until the 3:28 mark. At that point, a layup from AJ Stroop ended a 12-4 stretch with Geneva leading 57-56. Two possessions later, Ryan O'Neil drove to the right block, hit a runner and was fouled. He followed with a free-throw conversion, giving the Lords a 59-57 lead.
 
The score was tied twice more at 59-all and 61-all, but two free throws from Zilinskas had the Lords up, 63-61 with 18 ticks remaining. Geneva did go for the lead with 13 seconds left, but a contested three-pointer in the left corner from Damazo was missed and rebounded by Davis. The Lords' sophomore guard then closed the scoring with two more foul shots.
 
Kenyon's next contest comes on November 16 at 2 p.m. when it hosts Muskingum University at Tomsich Arena.