DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University (12-12, 7-10 NCAC) gave a strong second-half defensive effort and held off Kenyon College (6-18, 3-14 NCAC) on Wednesday night, winning the North Coast Athletic Conference men's hoops game 67-55.
 
The Lords' 55 points were the second fewest scored this season.
 
A three-point barrage from both teams helped fans at Branch Rickey Arena quickly forget just eight combined points through the opening six minutes of action.
 
Trailing 5-3, Lords' newcomer Nate Duggins hit back-to-back threes, giving the purple and white a 9-8 lead at 13:18. That advantage was short-lived, though, as Ohio Wesleyan reeled off a big stretch.
 
Over the next four minutes, the Bishops went on a 16-5 run and sank four 3-pointers. Jaret Gerber hit two of those while Bryson Lane hit the last which gave OWU a 24-14 lead with 9:24 remaining.
 
OWU was a more-than-efficient 8-of-18 from downtown by the break. As for the Lords, they clawed back to pull the deficit to seven points, 34-27. Over the final 8:50, Carter Powell and Nick Lewis hit threes, while sophomore Elijah Davis closed the half's scoring with a step-back jumper with 32 seconds left.
 
The Lords were very good from range, too, hitting six of their 10 long balls.
 
After the break, Kenyon pulled the game to within two. The Lords scored on three-straight possessions to bring the tally to 40-38 after a three from Kamal Aubakirov. After forcing a stop on Ohio Wesleyan's next possession, the Lords had a chance to tie. However, a missed shot in the paint kept the Bishops in front.
 
The home squad responded with six straight points – all layups – and went up eight, 46-38, with 14 minutes left.
 
Alex Cate hit a three-pointer nearly two minutes later to bring the scoreboard to 48-44, but that would be the closest the Lords got the rest of the way. OWU, after giving up 60 percent shooting from three in the first half, held the Lords to 33 percent in the second. Plus, the Bishops hit 11-of-16 (69%) two-point shots in the second stanza.
 
Powell and Ugnius Zilinskas tallied 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Powell pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. Duggins added nine points for Kenyon on 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range.
 
On Saturday, the Lords will close their season with a home game against Allegheny College at 4 p.m. It will be Senior Day for the program.