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Kenyon College Athletics

Charlie Heywood
Sejin Kim
70
Ohio Wesleyan OWU 11-8,6-4 NCAC
73
Winner Kenyon Kenyon 4-15,2-8 NCAC
Ohio Wesleyan OWU
11-8,6-4 NCAC
70
Final
73
Kenyon Kenyon
4-15,2-8 NCAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Ohio Wesleyan OWU 33 31 6 70
Kenyon Kenyon 33 31 9 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Owls beat Bishops in OT after back-and-forth battle

GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College men's basketball team was in another tightly-contested, back-and-forth contest on Wednesday night, as the team held the third and final contest of its three-game North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) homestand, hosting Ohio Wesleyan University. 

Despite two close losses in that homestand, this one went the Owls way. After 16 total lead changes led to a 33-33 tie at the half and a 64-64 tie after 40 minutes, Kenyon pulled away in overtime to grind out the 73-70 win. 

With 2:33 left in regulation, Kenyon (4-15, 2-8 NCAC) took a 64-62 lead as Gefen Bar-Cohen tacked on to what would be a 23-point outing for the senior with a tough layup. Each team traded possessions down the stretch, coming up empty each time. 
 
Over two minutes later, a costly foul sent Ohio Wesleyan's (11-8, 6-4 NCAC) Phil Wallace to the line, as two made free throws evened the score for the 14th time with 22 seconds remaining. Kenyon came up short on the game-winner, but a controversial foul sent the Bishops to the line with one second left in the game. Luckily for Kenyon, the foul shot was off the mark, sending the game into overtime.

Bar-Cohen struck first in the extra period with nearly half of the five-minute period gone, but the Bishops again tied it at 66 with 3:11 to play. 

After the Bishops took a 68-66 lead on the ensuing possession, first-year Marius Mazeika orchestrated five straight points for the Owls, giving the home team a 71-70 lead with 90 seconds remaining. After grabbing timely rebounds and forcing the visitors to foul, Nick Nelson and Bar-Cohen each tacked on one point apiece at the free-throw line, cementing the Owls winner and marking the first Kenyon win against Ohio Wesleyan since the 2018-2019 season. 

Bar-Cohen's 23 points were the most on either side for the evening, as Charlie Heywood was next on the stat sheet with 14 points, followed closely by Mazieka's 13 and a team-high 10 rebounds. Sam Lieberman led the Owls from beyond the arc, firing nine points on 3-of-4 (75 percent) shooting from deep. 

In the first half, Kenyon got off to a nice start in the game's first five minutes, stringing together a 13-9 run as Heywood and Jackson Maloney led the team with five and three points respectively. 

The Owls went cold in the middle part of the half, shooting just 2-of-7 (28.6 percent), allowing Ohio Wesleyan to fire off a 12-6 run to capture its first lead of the game, setting the score at 21-19 with 8:34 to play in the first. 

Bar-Cohen led the home team down the stretch in the opening half, adding to his 10 first-frame points with four in the final five minutes to draw the score even after 20 minutes, 33-33, setting up for another close second half. 

The win improves Kenyon's record to 4-15 and 2-8 in the conference. The Owls hit the road Saturday, February 1 for a matchup against Denison, tipping off at 1:00 pm. 



 
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