NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The Kenyon College and Williams College men's basketball teams met up for the first-ever matchup between the programs on Sunday as the squads squared off in the opening round of New York University's Holiday Tournament. The Owls opened each quarter with strong spurts, but the Ephs battled back as the teams were so evenly matched that they needed more than 40 minutes to decide a winner. Williams outlasted the Owls in the extra frame, hanging on for a 67-64 victory.

The teams played each other evenly over each of the first two halves, with each squad scoring 30 points in each frame. The Ephs wound up outshooting Kenyon by about five percent overall and two percent from downtown, but the Owls shot nearly nine percent better from the charity stripe. The only major stat that favored one side significantly was rebounds, where the Owls were plus-10, 47-37 on the boards.

Marius Mazeika did the lion's share of Kenyon's rebounding, hauling in a season-high 16 boards, including a whopping nine on the offensive end. The first-year finished with his season's first double-double, adding 10 points. Fellow first-year Jackson Maloney led the Owls with a season-high 17 points after an impressive shooting display, going 5-for-9 from three-point range. Gefen Bar-Cohen, the team's leading scorer, finished with 15 points and four rebounds after leading the Owls with 12 points in the first half.

Bar-Cohen's output sent the senior over the 1,000-point threshold in his stellar Kenyon career. The forward entered the game with 991 career points and is now averaging a career-high 16.2 points per game and is tied for a career-best with 6.8 rebounds per game in his fourth season at Kenyon.

Kenyon was locked in on defense from the jump as Charlie Heywood, who finished with a season-best 10 rebounds, snagged a steal on the opening possession that led to immediate offense on the other side. Maloney made the most of the early takeaway, knocking down a three-pointer off of an assist from Nick Nelson, who dished out a game-high six helpers.

The Owls got out to a 10-3 lead after an early 7-0 run, but Williams scored eight straight to take the lead. From there, the teams went back and forth as neither squad led by more than four en route to a 30-30 halftime tie.

Maloney started the second half just like he did the first, knocking down another trifecta. The early triple again sparked a Kenyon run as the Owls opened the half on a 14-5 run. Most of Kenyon's damage came from downtown as the Owls were perfect on four three-point attempts, three from Maloney and one by fellow first-year Jackson Burke.

However, the Ephs answered again, going on a 15-2 run to take a 50-46 lead at the midway point in the frame. Williams's lead swelled to six at 57-51, but Kenyon stormed back with seven unanswered points after Mazeika and Nelson converted trips to the charity stripe and Murathan Kocaman hit a key three.

Lucas Friedman made his mark with a steal and a game-tying fastbreak basket that knotted the score at 60 apiece. However, neither team could muster a game-winner as the game remained tied for the final 2:55, with Williams going 0-for-5 and missing the final shot and Kenyon going 0-for-3.

The lid stayed on the basket into the extra period as it took nearly two minutes for someone to score in overtime. Alex Lee, who finished with a game-high 21 points, knocked down a triple to give the Ephs a lead they would not relinquish. Despite pulling within one on two occasions, the Owls fell 67-64, Kenyon's second straight three-point overtime loss.

Despite the Owls and Ephs being first-time opponents, the programs are familiar with one another as Kenyon coaches Steve Phillips and Justin Sosinsky are in their second year in Gambier after coming over from Williams.

Both teams have another day at the NYU Holiday Tournament on deck as Kenyon (1-9) will play SUNY Purchase (4-4) at 1 p.m. in the consolation game while Williams (7-2) advances to play No. 8-ranked NYU (9-0) in the tournament championship at 3 p.m.