On Saturday, the Kenyon men’s basketball team beat the visiting Hiram College Terriers 77-55. The team dedicated their game to Morgan’s Message, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about mental health in athletics. Then, the Owls hit the road for a match-up against the Wittenberg University Tigers on Wednesday, where they won 66-64 thanks to a buzzer-beater.
On Saturday, the score was close at the beginning of the first half, with neither team gaining a significant lead. After 12 minutes of back and forth, Kenyon began a thrilling scoring streak which included a big 3-pointer from Sam Lieberman ’25. From there, Kenyon grew its lead from layups by Miles Versa ’25, Murathan Kocaman ’27 and Jackson Maloney ’28. Kocaman and Maloney each sank 3-pointers, followed immediately by multiple Kenyon trips to the free throw line. After the run, the Owls went into halftime up 40-29.
The second half was just as exciting as the first, as Kenyon maintained a consistent lead over the Terriers. Maloney hit another 3-pointer just over a minute in to set the tone for the half. Lieberman then scored five more points for Kenyon to increase the Owls’ lead to 56-40, the largest deficit for the Terriers so far. Gefen Bar-Cohen ’25 added 11 points during the stretch to contribute to Kenyon’s dominance. Bar-Cohen and Jackson Burke ’28 finished off the scoring for Kenyon with a pair of threes to secure the 22-point blowout win.
Bar-Cohen led the team in scoring with 19 points, followed closely by Lieberman, who contributed 16 points and went 3-for-3 from behind the arc. Maloney and Versa rounded out the scoring leaders with 13 and 12 points, respectively. The Owls ended the night making 25 of 57 field goals and shot well from behind the arc, making nine out of 21 3-pointers. Kenyon’s most impressive stat was its 85.7% free throw percentage where the team successfully sank 18 of 21 shots. Additionally, Maloney led the team in steals with 5 and Bar-Cohen led the team in rebounds with 8. After the game, Maloney was optimistic about the team’s performance. “We did a great job in playing free and not being afraid of making mistakes,” he wrote in a message to the Collegian. “Our ability to share the ball was showcased through our assist total surpassing our turnovers.”
On Wednesday, the Owls got the jump on the Tigers, immediately taking the lead over Wittenberg. A slew of layups and free throws from the Tigers evened the score at eight apiece, but Kenyon started to pull ahead. A pair of back-to-back 3-pointers from Maloney and Bar-Cohen, along with a Versa layup, strengthened the Owls’ lead to nine, their largest lead of the first half. Wittenberg continued to fight, but Kenyon maintained its lead and went into the locker room up 34-27.
Kenyon came out of halftime on an offensive high, building its lead to 13 points. However, that would be the Owls’ last substantial lead of the match, as their defense stalled and allowed a 19-6 Tigers run to tie the game 50-50. Wittenberg started to build a lead of its own with a set of 3-pointers to go up by six, but the Owls remained on the hunt for a win, fighting back towards yet another tied score, 64-64. With just under two minutes left to play, both defenses found their time to shine, as neither side could break the deadlock. After a final Kenyon timeout and just six seconds on the clock, Burke made the final shot of the game as the buzzer sounded to give Kenyon the 66-64 victory.
The game marks Kenyon’s fourth win in its last five games, bringing the Owls’ record to 7-16 (5-9 NCAC). Bar-Cohen led the way for Kenyon yet again, amassing 18 points, which marks his 10th straight game this season with double digit scoring. Marius Mazeika ’28 and Nelson both contributed 12 points, and Maloney added 7.
Next up, Kenyon looks to face Wabash College for senior day on Saturday. With only two games left in the regular season, the Owls look to maintain their spot in the post-season, as Kenyon currently sits in sixth place in the NCAC. “I’m happy with the progress that we’ve made as a team from the beginning of the season,” he said. “By being on a team at Kenyon, it brings a compilation of personalities to create a symphony on and off the court. This team shows clear themes of brotherhood and togetherness that brings us together for a lifetime.”
Sports editor Henry Brandt ’26 is a member of the men’s basketball team.