SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- With three regular-season North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) games to go in the Kenyon College men's basketball team's pursuit of a postseason spot, the Owls had plenty of motivation against the Wittenberg University Tigers as the sixth seed was up for grabs in Kenyon's penultimate road contest. The Owls struck first as the team got off to a great start, but the deciding bucket came at the buzzer as Kenyon also struck last to erase the home team's comeback hopes and clinch a 66-64 victory.
The win saw the teams flip in the NCAC standings, with Kenyon (7-16) improving to 5-9 in conference play and Wittenberg (8-14) falling to 4-9. The Tigers held a half-game edge over the Owls for sixth in the league standings, but Kenyon's victory will go a long way toward the team's push to make the six-team NCAC Tournament.
The Owls have been on a tear of late as the regular season winds down, winning two straight and four of their last five games. The win marked Kenyon's first against the Tigers since 2016, which came nearly nine years ago on February 17, 2016, snapping a streak of 15 straight for the Tigers. Additionally, Kenyon's five wins in NCAC contests are the team's most since that same 2015-16 season, when the program went 8-10 against conference competitors.
Kenyon captured an early lead and never gave it up in the first half, as Gefen Bar-Cohen added the Owls' first bucket followed by a contested Nick Nelson layup and a Miles Versa three-pointer to take an 8-6 lead with five minutes gone in the half.
Wittenberg quickly evened the score, but the visitors built their first big lead as the half crossed the 10-minute mark. The Owls shot 9-of-18 (50 percent) from the floor and 3-of-6 (50 percent) from beyond the arc to open the contest, as back-to-back triples from Bar-Cohen and Jackson Maloney opened up a 22-14 lead with 9:10 remaining in the first.
After the Tigers hit a three of their own to come within five, Versa capped off a solo 4-0 run with a steal and a layup to give Kenyon its biggest lead of the half at 26-17 with 5:19 in the opening frame, setting the senior with a 4-of-5 (80 percent) mark from the field in the first. The home team again was able to respond by cutting the lead to just two points with 2:20 to play, but a three-pointer from Marius Mazeika and a layup from Nelson restored a seven-point Kenyon lead after 20 minutes 34-27.
Versa had a big first half off the bench, leading all scorers with nine first-half points. Fellow senior Bar-Cohen poured in 11 second-half points to finish with a game-high 18, while fellow guard Nelson notched eight second-half points. The Owls needed all the contributions they got as Wittenberg mounted a comeback that flipped the game's script.
After Kenyon shot 14-for-27 (51.9 percent) in the first half while holding the home team to an 11-for-27 (40.7 percent) clip, the Tigers tipped the scales with a matching 14-for-27 mark in the second stanza while the Owls offense made 11 of 26 (42.3 percent) shots.
Wittenberg's comeback was bolstered by three-point shooting, and their sizzling 6-for-11 (54.6 percent) clip helped the Tigers take a six-point, 62-56 lead with four minutes left. However, Wittenberg left the door open by shooting poorly at the charity stripe, making just three of seven free throw attempts in each half.
The home team also missed multiple good looks down the stretch, while the Owls made the most of their late-game chances. Nelson and Bar-Cohen combined for all of Kenyon's points over an 8-2 run that knotted the score at 64 all with 1:50 on the clock.
Big man Jackson Burke blocked a Wittenberg layup on the ensuing possession, and the first-year had even more in store when it mattered most. After the teams traded missed shots, the Owls had a chance to take the final shot after a Bar-Cohen board with six ticks left. Bar-Cohen drove the ball and took a shot to put Kenyon ahead, but his would-be winner missed the mark. However, Burke had his back and hit the boards, grabbing the offensive rebound and making the game-winning, tip-in layup as time expired.
The game-winner marked the second time over the last four games that Burke's late-game heroics have helped the Owls come out on top. The first-year also hit big shots in Kenyon's double-overtime upset of No. 15-ranked Denison University back on February 1.
Burke finished with six points and tied Bar-Cohen for a game-high with six rebounds. He also snagged a pair of steals. Four Owls scored in double figures, as Bar-Cohen (18 points), Nelson (12), Mazeika (12), and Versa (11) bolstered the balanced scoring showing.
Cameron Harrison paced Wittenberg with 17 points, including a dozen in the second half. Eddie Brown had 13 points and five rebounds before fouling out late, while Sam Miller finished with 10 points after scoring seven in the first frame.
The Owls have just two games left in the regular season. On Saturday, Kenyon will host Wabash College (14-8, 10-3 NCAC), who sits second in the league standings, as the Owls celebrate Senior Day in Gambier at 2 p.m. Kenyon's season finale comes against eighth-place Oberlin College (11-11, 3-10 NCAC) a week from today when the Owls will look to avenge a five-point loss from earlier this season.
