On Saturday afternoon, the Lords (4-2) dropped their first North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) game of the season, losing to Denison University, 84-83, in triple overtime. In front of a large crowd, the Lords jumped out to a 13-point lead with two minutes left in the first half but were unable to hold on for the win.
The Lords still held the lead at 34-27, at the end of the first half. However, a number of Lords turnovers and shaky offensive play gave the Big Red an opportunity to get back in the game. Denison went a second-half run that concluded with a 56-51 lead with just over two minutes left.
The Lords came up big in order to extend the game past the NCAA 40 minutes. Junior guard Matt Shifrin got the hot hand, hitting three consecutive three pointers to tie the game at 60. Kenyon survived a couple of final second shot attempts from Denison in order to send the game into overtime.
In the first overtime, the Lords held a three-point lead with 20 seconds left, but were not rewarded for their strong defensive effort. With a hand in his face, Denison’s Maxwell Siwik buried a three-pointer from the left wing, deflating the crowd and silencing Tomsich Arena, and sent the game into a second overtime. The second overtime was not quite as dramatic, with neither team scoring in the final minute.
An unlucky bounce doomed the Lords in their third overtime. Kenyon held a two-point lead with 17 seconds left and Denison’s Johnny Vernasco went to the line for two free throws. Vernasco made the first free throw, but bricked the second one, with the ball bouncing hard toward the sideline.
Denison’s Garrett Collier out-hustled the Kenyon defenders and collected the ball before Alex Laub’s ’18 momentum caused him to foul, sending Collier to the line. Collier made both his free throws and Phillip Crampton ’18 missed a go-ahead three-pointer as time expired.
In the loss, Shifrin led the team with 23 points, while Laub had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
On Wednesday night, the Lords defeated Allegheny College 64-62 as they fended off a late comeback by the Gators.
The Lords will play again on Saturday afternoon against Wabash College at home.