GAMBIER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College men's basketball team could not maintain a strong start in their first North Coast Athletic Conference contest, falling 75-61 at home against Ohio Wesleyan University (4-2, 1-0 NCAC). The loss drops the Owls to 5-2 overall and 0-1 in the NCAC, and this is the first time Kenyon has failed to defend its home court during their early-season success.

The Owls took the lid off the basket after about two minutes of play when Nick Lewis scored the game's first points after Gefen Bar-Cohen kept the possession alive and picked up an assist after an offensive rebound.

The Battling Bishops' first bucket was a three-pointer that tipped off a stretch of four straight trifectas as the teams traded blows from behind the arc. OWU's Tony Carter and Kenyon's Anthony Testa went toe-to-toe, and Testa showed no hesitation on consecutive makes from deep. The early scoring helped Testa, a junior, finish with a team-high 14 points after shooting 5-10 overall and 4-9 from distance.

A 7-0 Kenyon run helped the home team double up the Battling Bishops, 16-8, a dozen minutes into the first half. However, OWU outscored the Owls 19-6 to finish the frame and bring a 27-22 advantage into the halftime break.

Kenyon made twice as many triples (8-4) as OWU over the second 20 minutes, but a plus-13 (18-5) mark at the free-throw line and efficient shooting from the floor helped the Battling Bishops hang on for the win. OWU matched Kenyon's 13 second-half field goals on seven fewer attempts and shot an efficient 52 percent (13-25) in the second frame.

Another Testa triple tied the game at 34 with 15:55 to play, but OWU did not relinquish the lead after retaking the edge. Sophomore Peter Haas knocked down a trifecta at the 11:26 mark to pull within two, 43-41, but that is as close as Kenyon could come to tying the contest. 

Kamal Aubakirov, a senior, scored a team-high nine points on three threes in the second half, finishing with 12 points after shooting a scorching 4-5 from three-point range. Lewis, a senior, scored 10 with five rebounds, while Bar-Cohen, a sophomore, stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds, and game-highs of five assists and three blocks.

Up next, Kenyon will play game two of a three-game stretch against NCAC opponents. The Owls are scheduled to head to Hiram, Ohio, to take on the Hiram College Terriers (4-4, 1-1 NCAC) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 7.