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Kenyon College Athletics

Gefen Bar-Cohen
Isoo OBrien
73
Winner Capital CAP 2-0,0-0 OAC
58
Kenyon Kenyon 0-2,0-0 NCAC
Winner
Capital CAP
2-0,0-0 OAC
73
Final
58
Kenyon Kenyon
0-2,0-0 NCAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Capital CAP 36 37 73
Kenyon Kenyon 34 24 58

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Owls can’t catch Comets in home opener

GAMBIER, Ohio – After losing a close game on the road to open the 2024-2025 regular season, the Kenyon College men's basketball team had its first contest from Tomsich Arena on Wednesday night, taking on Capital University in the home opener. 

It was a tale of two halves for the Owls, who were extremely efficient from the field and beyond the arc in the first half and hung right with the Comets through 20 minutes. However, the shooting went cold in the second half, especially from three, and Capital was able to slowly build a lead and take the game 73-58. 

Both offenses came out firing in the first frame, as the Owls shot 44.4 percent while the Comets clipped 50 percent, but the biggest separator in the first was the deep ball. Kenyon (1-1) faced an 8-4 deficit nearing the halfway point in the half, but caught fire from beyond the arc. Justin Gagnon, Gefen Bar-Cohen, and Jackson Maloney twice connected from downtown to cap a 12-to-3 run to put the home team up 16-11 with 11 minutes to play in the first. 

Despite Kenyon leading for over ten minutes in the half, Capital (2-0) clawed back after the barrage from three and kept making shots, going 7-for-16 in the final 10 minutes of the first and one-of-two from deep to take a narrow 36-34 lead into halftime. Bar-Cohen and Connor Moss helped keep pace with the Comets, each adding five points and accounting for over half of the team's total as the half came to a close. 

After halftime, the Owls shooting slowed dramatically, allowing the Comets to jump out to a 14-9 run through the opening minutes of the second half. As a team, Kenyon shot just 22.7 percent from the field in the half and were zero-for-seven from three, allowing Capital to spend nearly all of the second frame with the lead. 

Perhaps the closest the Owls came to turning the half around came with 8:20 left to play, as a turnover in the offensive end gave the Comets a two-on-one fast break. Bar-Cohen sprinted back and glassed the Capital layup, received a pass off the rebound and drove the length of the court for an and-one layup through tough contact, sinking the free throw to cut the lead to 52-48. 

The momentum was not enough to shake the Comets' spirit, as the visitors kept firing and went on a 21-10 run to end the game on six-of-nine shooting and two-of-two from beyond the arc to ice the game 73-58.

Bar-Cohen led the Owls with 18 points and 11 rebounds, the tenth double-double of his career. The senior went 100 percent from downtown and added three assists, two blocks and two steals, all team highs. Nick Valentino added nine points to mark a career high for the sophomore, while Maloney chipped in eight points going two-of-five from beyond the arc. 

Kenyon's record drops to 0-2 on the young season. The Owls are back in action from Gambier on Saturday, November 16 where the squad will take on Ohio Northern at 2:00 pm.


 
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