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Kenyon College Athletics

Juan Sergio Matabuena
Sejin Kim
62
Hiram HIRM 8-16,5-12 NCAC
70
Winner Kenyon College KENM 3-21,1-16 NCAC
Hiram HIRM
8-16,5-12 NCAC
62
Final
70
Kenyon College KENM
3-21,1-16 NCAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Hiram HIRM 22 40 62
Kenyon College KENM 32 38 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Lucien Kisch

Lords pick up conference win in final home game

GAMBIER, Ohio – It has been a challenging season for the Kenyon College men's basketball team, but they made sure to make their last memory of the 2021-2022 season at Tomsich Arena a good one. They defeated the Hiram College Terriers on Wednesday night 70-62 with strong play up and down the roster. It was the Lords first North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) win of the year, as well as their first victory since the calendar turned to 2022. 

The game started off low scoring, with Kenyon up just 3-2 six minutes into the game, due to a combination of good defense and poor shooting from both sides. But the Lords' gradually started getting their shots to fall and the offense cruising, with Nick Lewis and Juan Sergio Matabuena both sinking shots from behind the arc to put Kenyon up 10-4. Matabuena was feeling good from long range and kept on shooting three-pointers, hitting two more long balls to pad the Lords' lead to 18-9. 

Consistent play from Kenyon allowed the Lords' to maintain their lead, with the gap between them and the Terriers never dropping below eight points for the remainder of the half. Matabuena cashed in 14 points in the first half alone, connecting on a fourth trey late in the period off of Lewis' third assist of the game. Matabuena also corralled six rebounds, with his strong play helping Kenyon take a commanding 32-22 lead into halftime.

Hungry to get back into the game, the Terriers came out of the gates on a mission, quickly going on a 10-2 run to bring them within two points of Kenyon. A five point burst from first-year Gefen Bar-Cohen gave the Lords some breathing room, putting them up 44-38, but they could feel Hiram breathing down their backs.

The Lords were able to stretch their lead to 49-42 after another Bar-Cohen layup, but the Terriers fought back. A long three pointer from Kevin Beans Jr. brought the score to 49-48. Strong free-throw shooting beefed up the Lords' lead again to 56-48, but Hiram quickly brought things within four points. From there the Bar-Cohen show began taking over, with the first-year scoring four more points to stretch the lead back to eight with 3:49 to go in the game.

The Terriers were never quite able to catch up with the Lords, not getting closer than six points for the rest of the game. Down the stretch it became a free-throw game, and the Lords were up to the challenge, icing off their win 70-62. For the game, Kenyon was 19-26 from the charity stripe.

With the absence of Miles Versa, the Lords' leading scorer, other players stepped up. Matabuena led the team in both points and rebounds, scoring 17 and grabbing 8, and had two steals. Bar-Cohen had 13 points, all scored in the second half, on very efficient 75% shooting along with four rebounds. Lewis chipped in five points, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal. 

The Lords will play their season finale on the road against Wabash on Saturday, February 19. The game starts at 2 p.m., when the Lords hope to win back to back games for the first time this year.
 
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