Senior wing Jack Clement led a parade of 5 Ohio Wesleyan players in double figures as the OWU men’s basketball team defeated Kenyon 87-77 in North Coast Athletic Conference action on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.
The win kept Ohio Wesleyan (13-5, 8-1) in a tie for first place in the NCAC standings with Wooster, with the teams scheduled to square off on Wednesday in Wooster.
Kenyon (7-11, 0-9) took an early lead on Gefen Bar-Cohen’s lay-in on the opening possession of the game, but Clement knocked down a 3-pointer shortly thereafter to put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay. The Bishops went on an 11-1 run that included a pair of 3-pointers by junior wing Tony Carter and turned an 8-7 lead into a 19-8 cushion.
Ohio Wesleyan would lead by as many as 13 during the first half, but the Owls rallied with an 8-0 burst highlighted by a Bar-Cohen 3-pointer to pull within 32-27. The Bishops countered with a 9-2 run to close out the period, getting lay-ins from sophomore wing David Rice and senior post Grant Spicer during the final seconds of the half to take a 43-31 lead into the locker room.
The Owls remained within striking distance, closing to within 71-63 on an Anthony Testa 3-pointer and a steal and lay-in by Miles Versa with just over 6 minutes remaining.
It was a 77-70 game when Bar-Cohen converted a 3-point play with 2:38 left in regulation time, but Carter buried a 3-pointer on Ohio Wesleyan’s ensuing possession to push the lead back in double figures, and the Bishops would put the game away at the free throw line, with sophomore guard Henry Hinkle going 4-for-4 and Clement sinking a pair of free throws during the final 1:04.
Clement led the Bishops with 24 points. Hinkle finished with 14, Carter scored 13 and shared the team lead with 10 boards, Rice scored 10 and shared the team lead with 10 rebounds, and Spicer finished with 10 points and had a team-high 4 assists.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Sophomore post Alyssa Griner sank a jumper that gave Ohio Wesleyan the lead midway through the fourth quarter, but DePauw rallied for a 73-63 North Coast Athletic Conference win over the Bishops on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.
With the score tied at 53, Griner hit a jumper from the lane for a 55-53 Bishop lead with 5:38 left in regulation time.
The Tigers responded with a 12-0 run that included 3-pointers from Moira McGinley and Riley Mont and wrapped up with a jumper and a pair of free throws by Ava Hassell that gave the visitors a 65-55 lead with 2:03 to go.
Ohio Wesleyan rallied with 3 free throws from junior guard Kasey Schipfer, a lay-in by junior guard Lauren Denison, and a 3-pointer by freshman guard Graci Semptimphelter to narrow the deficit to 69-63 with :28 to go, but McGinley and Hassell each sank a pair of free throws to seal the outcome.
DePauw took the lead with a 12-4 run late in the first quarter, with Mya Shannon and Hassell hitting 3-pointers, and led for most of the second quarter before a 10-2 Bishop run gave Ohio Wesleyan a 33-31 lead in the final minute of the half.
Schipfer opened the second half with a 3-point play and the Bishops would lead for the rest of the third quarter, going up by as many as 7 points, but DePauw’s Lydia Stullken sank a lay-in to tie the game at 51 early in the fourth period, and hoops by Schipfer and Shannon left the score tied at 53 with 6:22 to play.
Schipfer led Ohio Wesleyan with 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Griner added 17 points.
