By Rebecca Dann
After two successful wins against Muskingum University (New Concord, Ohio) and North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) team Oberlin College over Thanksgiving break, the Lords took on two more NCAC teams this past week, breaking even with one loss and one win. The team first traveled to play Hiram College, where they lost in a close game 76-69. Kenyon took the lead within the first couple minutes of play, but Hiram managed to pull the game in their favor four minutes into the game, and remained in that position for the remainder. The Lords made several close attempts to even the score but were unable to put up the points. The team still put up a good effort, with Tim Connolly ’16 making a total of nine shots. Cooper Handelsman ’15 was the second-highest scorer on the team that day and managed to make a total of four shots.
“We just gotta take care of the small things that we know we can do because when we take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves,” Connolly said.
This past Tuesday, the team was able to bring home a win in overtime with a score of 75-72, as they traveled to Meadville, Pa. to play Allegheny College. The game appeared evenly matched, but Allegheny sought to have control of court in the first half, with Kenyon consistently trailing by a couple of points. The Lords were able to take the lead though at the end of the first half with a score of 37-34. The same trend continued through the second half, but the teams were tied at 65-65 at the end of play. As the teams entered into overtime, the Lords managed to take hold of court and after four minutes of play gained a six-point lead on Allegheny. Their opponent managed a three-pointer but was unable to catch the Lords, giving Kenyon their second conference game win of the season.
Handelsman led the team with an impressive total of 11 shots, while John Bray ’15 followed close behind with a total of nine shots. Alexander Powell ’18 also contributed to Kenyon’s win with a total of four shots. Brien Comey ’16 played tough defense as he managed a total of 11 rebounds throughout the game.
“We need to continue to progress on the defensive end in order to get the results we are looking for,” Handelsman said. “I think once we start playing better defense, we will see that improvement in our record.”
The Lords will next take on Albion College (Albion, Mich.) this coming Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Tomsich Arena. The team will continue to play throughout winter break and will return to Gambier next semester for conference play.