WOOSTER, Ohio – The Kenyon College Lords basketball team ran into some trouble trying to get its offense in gear Wednesday night at Timken Gymnasium. The host Fighting Scots of The College of Wooster took full advantage, ran out to 36-18 halftime lead and went on to claim a 76-57 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victory.

In the opening minutes of the game, the Lords fell behind 6-0 and then 16-8. After senior Alex Cate converted a layup to make it 16-10 at the 12:39 mark, Kenyon's offense went flat. The Lords missed their next six shots and turned the ball over three times. At the other end of the court, Wooster got five straight points from Danyon Hempy and another four from J.G. Gillard to move ahead 25-10.

Kenyon shot just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) in the first half. Wooster, boosted by 14 points from Hempy, shot 47.1 percent (16-of-34) during those first 20 minutes.

To their credit, the Lords bounced back in the second half of play, showed improvement and held their own against the Fighting Scots (15-5, 9-4 NCAC).

Senior Carter Powell tallied 13 second-half points and helped lift Lords back into contention.

After falling behind by as many as 21 points twice in the second stanza, the Lords whittled their deficit down to 11 by piecing together an 11-1 run during a three-minute span. Powell started that run with a two-pointer and finished it with a three-pointer.

Wooster then called a timeout, regrouped, and scored eight of the game's next 10 points. The Lords (6-14 overall, 3-10 NCAC) would not get any closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

Powell ended up with 15 points for the game, tying sophomore Kamal Aubakirov for the team lead. Powell also served up six assists and grabbed 10 rebounds to post his second double-double over the last five games. Aubakirov netted all 15 of his points on three-pointers. He shot 5-of-11 from long range (45.5 percent).

Kenyon also got six points and a game-high seven rebounds from senior Ryan O'Neil.

Hempy topped all scorers with 38 points on a 13-of-22 shooting performance for Wooster. Dontae Williams added 14 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

Things don't get any easier for Kenyon. The Lords return home Saturday for their next game, but they'll be entertaining the No. 5-ranked Wittenberg University Tigers (19-1, 12-1 NCAC).