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Kenyon College Athletics

Jackson Burke
Sejin Kim
82
Winner Kenyon Kenyon 5-15,3-8 NCAC
77
Denison Den 17-2,9-1 NCAC
Winner
Kenyon Kenyon
5-15,3-8 NCAC
82
Final
77
Denison Den
17-2,9-1 NCAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 OT 2 F
Kenyon Kenyon 29 32 5 16 82
Denison Den 32 29 5 11 77

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Kenyon dethrones Denison in double-overtime

GRANVILLE, Ohio – For the second time in as many games, the Kenyon College men's basketball team found itself in a tightly-contested overtime matchup with a top team in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). On Saturday afternoon on the road against No. 15 Denison University, the Owls were once again able to hit big shots when it mattered most, taking the double-overtime thriller 82-77. 

First-year Jackson Burke hit the three biggest shots of his young career in the overtime periods, allowing Kenyon to stay alive after the first extra period and eventually win in the second, dealing the Big Red just their second loss of the season and their first in NCAC play. 

Despite trailing at the half 32-29, Kenyon (5-15, 3-8 NCAC) was able to build the largest lead of either side in the second half, amassing a 59-50 advantage with 3:12 to play.

Denison (17-2, 9-1 NCAC) fired off an 11-2 run for the rest of regulation, culminating in a game-tying layup with seven seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime at 61-61. 

The first overtime started slow, as the Big Red struck first with 2:40 to play in the five-minute period, netting a free throw and adding another on the next possession to go up 63-61. 

While Nick Nelson came up empty on his trip to the charity stripe on the Owls ensuing possession, he made up for it immediately after, poking the ball from Denison's leading scorer and giving the Owls a chance with 54 seconds remaining. 

Burke drained his first big shot of extra time with 32 seconds remaining, splashing a three to put Kenyon up by one. However, Denison quickly responded with a triple of their own to regain the advantage with just 19 ticks on the clock. 

On the Owls final possession of overtime, Nelson drove to the basket and found Burke under the hoop, who fought through contact to hit the layup to tie the game at 66 with five seconds left, sending the contest into double-overtime. 

The Big Red again drew first blood in the second extra frame, but a deep three from Juan Sergio Matabuena and an athletic layup from Nelson put the Owls ahead 71-68 with 3:35 remaining. Denison captured the lead again with a 5-0 run on the following two possessions, going ahead 73-71 with 2:41 left. 

Jackson Maloney added to his strong performance by knotting the game at 73 after two gutsy free throws in front of the raucous opposing crowd, while Marius Mazeika capped off a solo 4-0 run with a crafty floater to restore a 77-75 advantage. 

In what was the eighteenth tie of the contest, the Big Red tied the game at 77 with 45 seconds left to play, setting up for a big Owls possession. Burke answered the bell yet again, hitting his fourth triple of the night to put his team up 80-77 with 21 seconds to play, while a turnover on the other end cemented the win for Kenyon. 

The core of Mazeika (21), Burke (18), and Nelson (16) combined for 55 points as nine Owls found the stat sheet in the absence of leading scorer Gefen Bar-Cohen. Mazeika led the rebounding efforts with seven and tallied 48 minutes, while Nelson dished nine assists in his 45 minutes and Maloney added nine points in 43 minutes. 

Defensively, Kenyon shot 10-of-23 (43.5 percent) from beyond the arc while holding the usually sharpshooting Denison team to 3-of-18 (16.7 percent). Burke swatted four blocks while Nelson swiped three steals. 

The win improves Kenyon's record to 5-15 overall and 3-8 in the NCAC. The Owls return to action on Wednesday, February 5 at 7:00 pm on the road against The College of Wooster.



 
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