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Kenyon College Athletics

Murathan Kocaman
Isoo OBrien
53
Kenyon Kenyon 5-16,3-9 NCAC
77
Winner Wooster Woost 13-8,9-3 NCAC
Kenyon Kenyon
5-16,3-9 NCAC
53
Final
77
Wooster Woost
13-8,9-3 NCAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Kenyon Kenyon 22 31 53
Wooster Woost 45 32 77

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Owls drop conference contest at Wooster

WOOSTER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College men's basketball team got off to a slow start Saturday at Timken Gymnasium and it turned out to be the difference in a 77-53 loss to The College of Wooster Fighting Scots.

Wooster (13-8, 9-3 NCAC) came into the game riding a six-game win streak, while Kenyon (5-16, 3-9 NCAC) was coming off a tight loss against a strong Wabash College team. Wooster, the second-place team in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings, previously defeated Kenyon this season by a score of 79-65 on January 3 in Gambier.

Over the first half of play, the visiting Owls shot just 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from the field, including 33.3 percent (3-of-9) from three-point range. The mediocre shooting percentages put the Owls in early deficits of 16-4 and 33-17. 

Kenyon first-year Murathan Kocaman opened up the game's scoring by knocking down a triple. That, however, would be Kenyon's only lead of the game, as Wooster immediately seized control. The Fighting Scots dominated the glass and the inside game, scoring 30 of their 45 first-half points in the paint. Wooster forward Nick Everett was a force to be reckoned with down low, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the first half. 

At the midway point of the first-half, the Owls cut the margin down to 11 after Dylan Fuerst cut to the basket off a pass from Nick Nelson and then drove to the cup for a layup. A couple possessions later, Charlie Heywood drew defenders in the post and dished it out to Justin Gagnon who flashed to the wing and knocked down a three as the shot clock expired.

The Owls stayed within 11 for a while, but Wooster closed out the half on an 8-0 run to take a 45-22 lead into halftime.

Kocaman started the scoring again for Kenyon in the second half, catching an inbound pass on the right side, posting up his defender and hitting a nice left-handed hook shot. Later on, Nelson intercepted a pass at half-court and dribbled down for a hard fast break layup.

At that point, Kenyon trailed by 19 and would get no closer the rest of the way. Wooster went on to lead by as many as 31 before settling on the final 24-point margin.

Kenyon shot much better in the second stanza, firing at 48.0 percent (12-of-25), and was only outscored by one point over that 20-minute span, but Wooster held the advantage at the free throw line and on the glass.

Fuerst, Nelson and Kocaman all finished with 10 points for Kenyon. Fuerst was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and Kocaman grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, accounting for nearly a quarter of Kenyon's total. Gagnon went on to shoot 3-of-4 from long range and rang up a career-high nine points.

In addition to 17 points from Everett, Wooster got a game-high 18 from Ashton Price and 10 more points from Jaiden Cox-Holloway.

The Owls, who have dealt with a great deal of injuries throughout the season, will look to bounce back Wednesday on the road against Ohio Wesleyan University in an 8 p.m. conference contest.
 
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