GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College men's basketball team went toe-to-toe on senior day with conference rival Denison College on Saturday afternoon inside Tomsich Arena, but a late surge by the visitors sent the Owls to an 81-69 setback in a game that featured 17 lead changes. Kenyon moved to a 10-10 overall record and 4-7 in conference play. Denison improves to 13-6 overall and 8-2 in conference play.
Kenyon hung right from the opening tip. Sophomore
Jackson Burke got the scoring started with a finish in the paint, and after Denison answered with a triple, first-year
Langston Foster knocked down a three of his own at 18:12 to swing the edge back to the home side. The game quickly settled into the kind of back-and-forth affair the rivalry is known for, Big Red briefly moved ahead on a pair of free throws, only for Kenyon to answer with junior
Charlie Heywood's tip-in at 15:44 to tie it back up, 9-9.
The teams continued to trade buckets and momentum through the middle portion of the half. Burke buried a three at 14:56, then threw down a dunk as Kenyon stayed aggressive attacking the lane. Foster added another big three shortly after as the Owls continued to provide answers, A
Will McDonald triple near the three-minute mark helped Kenyon stay within striking distance late in the period. Denison carried a narrow 36-35 advantage into the break after a basket in the final minute.
Kenyon opened the second half with energy, as sophomore
Marius Mazeika scored the first points of the second half to cut the deficit to one, and the teams were right back to exchanging blows. Mazeika later drilled a three at 17:40, and McDonald followed with a three of his own as the Owls continued to match Big Red possession for possession.
The lead see-sawed again in the middle of the half. Foster scored in the paint at 12:59 to keep Kenyon close, but Denison regained the edge three seconds after and then took the lead again at 12:01. After Mazeika answered with a layup, Denison responded with a jumper at 11:13, another example of how quickly each advantage disappeared.
Down the stretch, Denison finally created separation. With the score still tight in the final six minutes, the visitors knocked down a key three to make it 70-64 and followed with a jumper to push the margin to seven. The Owls continued to fight, Mazeika's three with just under a minute left trimmed it to 75-69, but Denison iced the game at the free-throw line over the final minute to close out the 81-69 decision.
Burke paced Kenyon with a season-high 20 points, going 8-for-14 from the field and 3-for-7 from three, while filling the stat sheet with eight rebounds, two assists, and three blocks. Mazeika followed with 19 points on an efficient 7-for-9 (77.8 percent) shooting day while providing two rebounds and one assist. Foster added 17 points, including four threes, two assists and one steal.
As a team, Kenyon shot 25-for-62 (40.3%) from the floor and 11-for-28 (39.3%) from beyond the arc. The Owls were sharp at the stripe, going 20-for-24 (83.3%), and controlled the glass with a 44-31 rebounding edge, but Denison's late shot-making and free throws proved decisive.
The Owls will look to get back in the win column as they remain at home to host The College of Wooster in an NCAC matchup on Wednesday, February 4, with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
