GAMBIER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College men's basketball team orchestrated a furious and impressive comeback over the final minute to tie the game, but a last-second layup helped DePauw University (8-3, 2-2 NCAC) down Kenyon 69-67. The Owls dropped a tight North Coast Athletic Conference contest for the second game in a row, falling to 5-4 overall and 0-3 against NCAC competition.

David Mazon III led Kenyon in scoring, and his final shot of the night may have been the most important. The sophomore knocked down a three-pointer with 27 seconds left that capped an 8-0 Owls run and tied the game at 67, but the clutch trifecta was Kenyon's final make.

Mazon III finished with 15 points and three rebounds, and he was second on the team with three triples. Anthony Testa, the team's leading three-point shooter, hit 4-of-7 shots from behind the arc en route to 12 points.

Peter Haas, a sophomore, combined with Mazon III to bolster Kenyon's first-half totals. Mazon III (8) and Haas (7) scored 15 of the team's 35 points, and Kamal Aubakirov was 2-for-2 from three, tallying six points in six minutes off the bench. Haas finished with a season-high nine points off the pine. Gefen Bar-Cohen, another sophomore, stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, a team-high six rebounds, and a career-best five blocked shots.

DePauw jumped out to a 5-0 lead and would push their advantage to eight at 19-11, their largest of the half. It was from there that Kenyon began to chip away. A 13-4 run that featured triples from three different Owls put Kenyon up 24-23, and Mazon III made the go-ahead three-pointer.

The Owls increased their edge to six at 33-27 after another Mazon III trifecta, but that would mark Kenyon's largest lead of the game. By halftime, the Tigers cut the gap to two, 35-33, and the teams battled back and forth for much of the second half.

Over the first 12 minutes of the second frame, DePauw outscored Kenyon 22-20 as the game was locked at 55 points apiece. There were 12 lead changes and 10 ties throughout the game, but a well-timed DePauw run helped the visitors put Kenyon in a tough spot late.

The Tigers outscored the Owls 12-4 over seven minutes, taking a 67-59 lead with just over a minute left. Testa connected from downtown on the next possession, kicking off a hectic string of events and sparking an eight-point, game-tying comeback.

First-year guard Nick Nelson snagged a steal after Testa's triple and knocked down a long two-pointer to force a DePauw timeout. Mazon III tied the game after a missed free throw, but DePauw's Elijah Hayes, who scored a game-high 21 points, drove into the heart of the Kenyon defense and converted a layup with two seconds left, the eventual game-winner.

Each team made 26 field goals and shot a similar percentage, but Kenyon was plus-15 from three-point range after making five additional triples (11-6). However, DePauw benefitted from seven more makes (11-4) on nine more shots (16-7) from the free throw line while controlling the paint with a 36-22 edge on points down low.

After three consecutive clashes against NCAC foes, the Owls will close their 2022 calendar with three non-conference bouts. Kenyon will head to Alma, Michigan, in a week on Dec. 17 for a 5 p.m. game against Alma College (3-3). The Owls are then scheduled to head down to Daytona, Florida, from Dec. 20-21 to participate in two games at the Daytona Beach Shootout.