Kodey Haddox scored a game-high 31 points as the Kenyon College Lords logged an 80-66 victory over Denison University in North Coast Athletic Conference action on Wednesday evening from Tomsich Arena.

The opening 4+ minutes were tightly contested until an 8-0 run helped Kenyon build their first double-digit lead of the night at 19-7.  The Big Red trimmed the deficit to 21-15 thanks to an old-fashioned three-point-play by Alex Longi (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier), but a 21-9 outburst over the final seven minutes of the first period allowed the Lords to enter the locker room with an 18-point advantage.

Kenyon extended their lead to 46-26 inside the opening minute of the second half. DU slowly chipped away at the deficit in the early stages of the period.  A pair of dunks by sophomore Dimonde Hale (Columbus, Ohio/Northland) and a 3-pointer by junior Casey Stockton (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) allowed Denison to shrink the margin to 50-40 with 15:58 remaining in the game.

Trailing 59-48 midway through the second, Longi and Hale went a combined 3-for-4 from the charity stripe to cut the deficit to eight with 8:09 on the clock.  Unfortunately, that was as close as DU would get as the Lords used solid play on both ends to the 14-point win.

On the night, Kenyon shot 50 percent (28-for-56) from the field and 43 percent from behind the arc, while Denison shot a 39 percent clip from the floor and 27 percent from 3-point land.  The Lords also outrebounded DU 43-31.

Hale paced the Big Red with 24 points and eight rebounds, while Stockton chipped in nine points in 26 minutes off the bench.

The Big Red fall to 8-15 on the year and 5-9 in the NCAC, while Kenyon improves to 9-12 overall and 5-8 in the league.  Denison returns to the court on Saturday (Feb. 12) when they travel to Meadville, Pa. to take on the Gators of Allegheny College.  Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.