GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College men's basketball team closed out its 2025-26 campaign Wednesday evening inside Tomsich Arena, falling to conference foe Oberlin College, 78-59. With the result, the Owls wrap up the season at 10-15 overall and 4-12 in North Coast Athletic Conference play.
Kenyon struggled to find consistency from the field, shooting 19-for-57 (33.3 percent), while the visiting Yeomen connected at an efficient 27-for-52 (51.9 percent). The difference was most apparent from beyond the arc, where Oberlin knocked down 13-of-30 attempts (43.3 percent) compared to Kenyon's 4-for-27 (14.8 percent) showing. Oberlin also capitalized at the free-throw line, finishing 17-for-19 (89.5 percent), while the Owls converted 11-of-15 (73.3 percent). The rebounding battle was tightly contested, with Oberlin edging Kenyon, 33-30.
The opening minutes were competitive, as Kenyon worked inside early. First-year
Nicholas Graves got the Owls on the board with a jumper followed by a tip-in layup. Moments later,
Charlie Heywood converted a layup off a
Marius Mazeika assist to give Kenyon a brief 8-7 lead. Graves followed with a mid-range jumper to extend the advantage to 10-7.
Oberlin responded with a strong shooting stretch from beyond the arc. A series of three-pointers helped the Yeomen turn a one-possession game into a 30-16 advantage midway through the half. Kenyon battled back behind inside finishes from
Jackson Burke and Graves, while
Will McDonald buried a three-pointer at the 1:50 mark to trim the deficit to 37-28. Burke added two free throws in the final minute, but Oberlin converted at the stripe late to take a 39-30 lead into halftime.
Out of the break, the Owls showed early energy as
Langston Foster drilled a three-pointer off a Graves assist to cut the margin to 39-33. However, Oberlin answered quickly with a three of its own and continued to capitalize from long range. Back-to-back threes at 14:08 and 13:41 pushed the lead to 58-36, part of a decisive second-half surge that created separation. From there, the Owls tried every bit to build a comeback with many efforts from beyond the arc and at the charity strip but unfortunately the lead was too strong, with the Yeoman closing the game out 78-59.
Despite the deficit, Graves continued his strong stretch to close the season. The first-year guard poured in 20 points for the third consecutive game, his sixth 20-point performance of the season, finishing 6-for-14 (42.8 percent) from the floor and 8-for-10 (80 percent) at the free-throw line. He also contributed eight rebounds, four assists, and a steal, consistently attacking the rim and converting through contact. Mazeika added 12 points, including a pair of second-half three-pointers, and was perfect from the charity stripe (4-for-4). Burke chipped in eight points on an efficient 3-for-4 shooting night while adding four rebounds and a steal.
