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Kenyon College Athletics

Gefen-Bar Cohen
Sejin Kim
67
Kenyon Kenyon 7-18,5-11 NCAC
68
Winner Oberlin Ober 13-11,5-10 NCAC
Kenyon Kenyon
7-18,5-11 NCAC
67
Final
68
Oberlin Ober
13-11,5-10 NCAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Kenyon Kenyon 24 43 67
Oberlin Ober 31 37 68

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Owls comeback falls short in regular season finale

OBERLIN, Ohio – After the first 20 minutes of Wednesday night's North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season finale on the road against Oberlin, the Kenyon College men's basketball team looked as if there was a lid on the basket, struggling to make shots and falling behind on the scoreboard. 

The Owls offense improved mightily in the second half and allowed the team to come back from a substantial deficit, eventually taking the lead with less than a minute to play fueled by double-digit halves from Gefen-Bar Cohen and Miles Versa. However, the Yeomen were able to hit the big shots when it mattered and play tough defense to fend off the visitors 68-67. 

Kenyon's (7-18, 5-11 NCAC) first lead of the day came with 50 seconds to play in the second half. After shooting just 9-of-32 (28.1 percent) from the field and 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc in the first frame, the team stormed back after being down 12 in the early minutes of the half and 11 with 10:21 in the game. 

Versa and Bar-Cohen added nine and seven points respectively to spark a 27-15 run in the final nine minutes, shooting 11-for-15 (73.3 percent) from the field and 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) from three. Bar-Cohen laid in the go-ahead basket assisted by Versa and the Yeomen got the ball down 67-66. 

Oberlin (13-11, 5-10 NCAC) nailed two free throws at the other end after a foul sent the home team to the line for a one-and-one to regain the lead with 26 seconds to play. Kenyon cycled the ball around looking for a soft spot in the Yeomen zone defense, but settled for a tough three-pointer and could not connect, finishing the game 68-67.

Despite the tough ending, the Owls showed tremendous fight to battle back after a slow first half. Oberlin jumped out to a quick 7-0 advantage within the contest's first five minutes, and Murathan Kocaman hit a jumper with 15:27 to play in the half to get the Owls on the board. 

Bar-Cohen led the way in the first as Kenyon began to inch closer, while Nick Nelson and Marius Mazeika each added two and Kocaman nailed a three to set the score 14-19. 

The Yeomen answered with a 12-4 run to expand the lead down the stretch, leading 31-18 with 2:46 in the half. Bar-Cohen and Jackson Maloney each buried triples to cut into the advantage to end the half, but after 20 minutes Kenyon trailed 24-31, setting up for the exciting second half. 

Bar-Cohen led the team with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Versa's strong second half put him at 13 points to go along with four assists. On the defensive side of the ball, Jackson Burke protected the rim with two blocks, while Versa swiped two steals. 



 
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