Box Score A fierce comeback attempt by Denison University would be staved off by Kenyon, 72-69, on Wednesday night in Gambier, Ohio. The Lords led by 10 points with just over two minutes to play in regulation, but the Big Red would put together a run that ended up just a possession shy of potentially tying the game and sending it to overtime.
With 2:33 to play, Denison's John Cheng came out of a scrum with the offensive rebound and found Briggs King in the corner for a 3-pointer, cutting the Kenyon lead to 66-59. After Bennett Grigull split a pair of free throws, Denison's Bret Woolard would score on a layup and then would convert a spinning fade away jumper in the paint to make it a four-point deficit with 1:24 left.
At the other end, Cheng would be whistled for a foul on Kenyon's Tim Connolly who went to the line and missed both attempts. With a chance to cut the lead to two or one, King would miss an open 3-point try from the elbow, resulting in a Kenyon rebound. DU would foul Grigull with 41 seconds left and the London, England import would connect on both, lifting Kenyon to a 69-63 lead.
At the other end, after a key offensive rebound by King, he would dribble out to the wing and set a screen for Robby Weingart who canned his fifth 3-pointer of the game, making it a one possession game at 69-66 with 29 seconds remaining.
DU would foul in the backcourt, sending Kenyon's Jonathan Amador to the charity stripe for the first time. Amador would make both freebies, pushing KC to a 71-66 lead. As Denison was about to cross halfcourt, Cooper Handelsman would step in front of Weingart's pass and take off for a fast break layup. Handelsman's would miss the layup but Grigull was there for the big offensive board. With seven seconds left Grigull split the pair. Darius White would proceed to knock down the team's 12th 3-pointer of the night, but that shot would connect with under one second remaining, setting the final at 72-69.
Denison shot 48 percent from the field and were 12-of-23 from beyond the arc. A 17-of-26 performance at the free throw line for Kenyon would be the difference as the Lords would shoot 46 percent from the field for the game. Denison was just 9-of-19 from the charity stripe.
Weingart scored a season-high 15 points while going 5-of-6 from long range. Bret Woolard also scored 15 points in 21 minutes of action. King chipped in 11 points and led all players with 10 rebounds. White rounded out the scoring leaders with nine points.
Connolly paced Kenyon with 18 points and Brien Comey tallied 16 points and eight rebounds while going 8-for-11 from the field. Amador came off the bench to add 10 points in 23 minutes.
This is the third-straight loss for Denison who drops to 8-6 overall and 2-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Kenyon improves to 5-9 and 3-4 in conference play. DU will look to bounce back this Saturday (Jan. 17) when they travel to Meadville, Pa. for a 3 p.m. tip-off against Allegheny College.
