GAMBIER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College men's basketball team bounced back from a slow first half, dialing in their shots and grinding out a hard-fought 58-56 win over Muskingum University (0-5). With the win, the Owls improved to 5-1 ahead of their first conference contest, the program's best start since going 5-1 to open the 2008-2009 campaign.

After mustering just six points over the first 14 minutes, Jackson Kennedy and Alex Boyd helped the Owls notch eight points over two minutes to pull within one. Kennedy kicked off the scoring with a jumper before Boyd swished home a triple on the ensuing possession after an assist from Kamal Aubakirov. Boyd made it two in a row after Peter Haas kept Kenyon's next possession alive, leading to a trifecta from a Kennedy assist that cut the deficit to 15-14.

The teams went back and forth for four minutes, but Kenyon's Connor Moss made a three-ball on his first possession after checking into the game, knotting things up at 24 points apiece. 

The timely three-pointers helped the Owls hang around in the first half as the home team headed into the locker room down two, 26-24, after the Muskies led by seven on several occasions. Kenyon shot 30.8 percent from the floor (8-26) and three-point range (4-13), compared to a 41.7 percent clip overall (10-24) for Muskingum and a 33.3 percent mark from deep (2-6).

Gefen Bar-Cohen and Nick Lewis made layups on Kenyon's first two second-half possessions, giving the Owls their first lead of the game at 28-26.

The Owls and Muskies went blow-for-blow in a second frame that featured nine ties and 11 lead changes. Muskingum's largest lead was four, while Kenyon's most significant edge was two, but the two points proved to be the game's final margin.

Lewis, a senior, found his stroke in the second half, scoring all of his team-high 11 points over the final 20 minutes. The teams shot efficiently from everywhere except the charity stripe, as Kenyon went 13-26 (50 percent) overall and 5-9 (55.6 percent) from three, while Muskingum was 11-for-24 (45.8 percent) overall and 4-for-8 (50 percent) from downtown.

Timely trifectas were a story late, including a sequence around the five-minute mark where each side connected on two attempts. A Logan Stotzer three put the Muskies up four, 51-47, with 5:47 left, but Anthony Testa buried a stepback triple late in the shot clock on the next possession to keep Kenyon close. 

Muskingum jumped ahead by three shortly after that with another triple, but David Mazon III connected from distance after Lewis battled for an offensive board and assisted on the game-tying bucket.

All three of Kenyon's final field goals were from three-point range, as Aubakirov made one of the game's biggest shots with 2:14 on the clock. Boyd dished the ball to Aubakirov on the right wing with only a few ticks on the shot clock, and the senior connected to put the Owls up 57-56. 

After trading turnovers and missed shots, first-year guard Nick Nelson had a chance to put Kenyon up three from the free-throw line, but only one shot dropped as the door was open for Muskingum. The Owls defended the first play beautifully and forced a Muskie timeout with four seconds left, but the visitors got a wide-open look from three-point territory off of the inbound play as they attempted to win the game. Fortunately for Kenyon, Stotzer's triple was off the mark, and the Owls hung on for their fifth win in six tries.

Mazon III scored 10 points with seven rebounds and two assists, finishing second on the team in points and tied for first in rebounds. Bar-Cohen also grabbed seven boards, scoring eight.

Up next, the Owls take on their first North Coast Athletic Conference test as they welcome Ohio Wesleyan University (3-2) to Gambier on Saturday, Dec. 3. The game is set to tip off at 3 p.m. in Tomsich Arena.