LEXINGTON, Va. – The Kenyon College men's basketball team opened play at the Washington & Lee Holiday Classic in dominant fashion on Monday afternoon, pulling away early and never looking back in a 93-67 win over Marywood University.
Kenyon set the tone immediately with defensive pressure and quick ball movement. After a pair of early turnovers on both sides, first-year Nicholas Graves got the Owls rolling at the 19:16 mark with a three-pointer, and Kenyon quickly began building separation behind an attack that was firing on all cylinders.
The Owls steadily grew the lead through the opening stretch. Graves drilled a second triple and moments later Nick Nelson finished in the paint and converted a free throw to make it 11-5 at 16:25. The Owls continued to pour it on from beyond the arc, as first-year Jack Corrigan Conaty buried a three at 16:07 to push the margin to 14-5. Marywood briefly answered at the free-throw line, but the good guys responded right back. Sophomore Jackson Burke cleaned up the glass for a tip-in and free throw at 14:33, and after a burst of stops, momentum resumed in favor of Kenyon with an Ashton Bjerke three-pointer at 12:35 to stretch the advantage to 20-9.
Kenyon's defense turned transition into points midway through the half. After a steal by Nelson, the Richmond native found Graves on the break for a layup and free throw to make it 25-12. The Owls kept the pressure on with Burke finishing inside off a Marius Mazeika assist, pushing the margin to 27-12.
Marywood hit a few threes to try and keep pace, but Kenyon responded every chance they had. Bjerke knocked down a pair of triples, while Graves continued to score in rhythm, helping the Owls build their biggest lead of the half at 47-28 with 3:02 remaining. Kenyon closed the half with more points at the line and inside, taking a 53-35 lead into the break.
The second half opened with more of the same. Mazeika scored early in the paint pushing the lead to 19 at the 18-minute mark. Marywood hit another triple, giving a glimpse of hope but Kenyon answered again, this time with defense fueling offense, as steals from Nelson and Burke created repeated fast-break chances. A key stretch came around the 13-minute mark. Nelson picked off a pass and shortly after, Bjerke buried a transition three to make it 64-45. Kenyon kept stacking points at the stripe and in transition, and the lead ballooned to 76-50 with nine to go.
From there, Kenyon pulled away for good. First-year Will McDonald fueled the bench with a three and two more buckets to stretch the margin past 30, and Corrigan Conaty's triple served as the final punctuation in a 93-67 win.
Five Owls reached double figures, led by Bjerke, who posted a career-high 18 points while knocking down four threes. Graves followed with 17 points on efficient shooting, while Mazeika added 16 and flirted with a double-double with eight rebounds. Burke recorded the game's only double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds, while also piling up a career-high and game-high five steals to go with three assists and two blocks. Off the bench, McDonald delivered an impressive and efficient outing, tallying a career-high 12 points in just 12 minutes, connecting on 4-of-5 shots from the field and 2-of-3 from the free-throw line, while also chipping in one rebound and one steal.
The Owls will now turn their attention to the tournament final, where they will face host Washington & Lee University in less than 24 hours. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.
