West Indy News

Tigers Hold Off Owls in 69-67 Victory

Ending its two-game skid, the DePauw men's basketball team beat the Kenyon College Owls 69-67. The Tigers improved to 2-2 in the conference and 8-3 overall, while the Owls dropped to 0-3 in NCAC play and 5-4 overall. 

 

Elijah Hales sank the game's first basket, giving the Tigers a quick three-point lead following a miss by the Owls at the other end. DePauw would go on a 10-7 run over Kenyon in the first five minutes, expanding their lead to as much as eight points following a transition layup by Camden Brown at 10:47. 

 

Unfortunately for DePauw, two early fouls by Hales resulted in the Tigers' leading scorer sitting out for the remainder of the half, forcing DePauw to adjust to scoring primarily in the paint. Kenyon crashed the key and clawed its way back into the game, capitalizing on turnovers and finding late success from behind the arc. At 6:50, Kenyon's Nick Lewis tied the game at 21 apiece; four lead changes later, the Owls found themselves with the lead after going on a 13-6 run over the Tigers. 

 

Down 33-27 with time winding down in the first half, Ronald Johnson put in a three to cut the Owls' lead in half. Kenyon's Gefon Barr answered quickly with a layup on the other end to put the Owls back up by five, but a late foul from behind the arc led to Johnson going 2-3 from the strike to close the Owls gap to 35-33, heading into the half.

 

The Tigers finished the first half shooting 56.6 percent from the field while holding the Owls to 46.7 from the floor. However, Kenyon's defense played a crucial role in its comeback and eventual lead, recording nine forced turnovers, three blocks, and nine points off turnovers.  

 

Despite DePauw opening the second half with a quick basket to knot the game up 35-35, the two teams spent most of the half trading baskets, with neither team able to pull away. Seven minutes into the second half, DePauw had only outscored Kenyon 8-4, holding a two-point lead over the Owls after three ties.

 

Throughout the second half, the Tigers put pressure on the Owls, forcing nine turnovers, resulting in 16 points on the other end. DePauw would finally start pulling away with eight minutes left in the game, following a layup by Johnson. Johnson helped spur a four-minute, 12-2 run over the Owls for the Tigers' 67-59 lead biggest lead of the afternoon.

 

Leading Kenyon 67-59 with just over a minute left in regulation, the Owls went on an 8-1 tear led by Anthony Testa, David Mazon, and Nick Nelson to tie the game 67-67. Keeping their composure, DePauw worked the clock with 27 seconds left in the game and gave the ball to Hales, who slipped past the Keyon defense for an easy layup for a 69-67 lead. 

 

With two seconds left in regulation, the Owls ran out of steam and could not secure its first conference win of the season.  

 

Hales paced DePauw with 21 points, followed by Johnson, who finished with a career-high 15 points, and Nolan Niego, who put in 11. Brown grabbed five rebounds and led the Tigers with four assists.

 

Kenyon's Mazon led the Owls with 15 points, with Testa adding 12. Gefen Bar was a force defensively, tallying five blocks, five defensive rebounds, and one steal.

 

The two teams finished the afternoon with ten ties and 12 lead changes. DePauw shot 49.1 percent from the field and, in the second half, was 3-7 from the three-point line. Kenyon connected on 46.4 percent from the floor and held an edge from behind the arc, shooting 50 percent in the second half. The Tigers outscored the Owls 36-22 in the paint and held an 18-17 advantage in rebounds. 

 

The Tigers travel to Olivet, Michigan, on Wednesday, December 21, to face the Comets of Olivet College for an 8 p.m.

Original source can be found here.