GAMBIER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College men’s basketball team tightened the screws on defense Monday and came away with a 68-49 home win against the Waynesburg University Yellow Jackets.
The game, a nonconference contest, was the final one of the 2021 calendar year for Kenyon, which will head into the new year with a 2-9 overall record. On the other side of the court, Waynesburg saw its win streak halted at four games and its record fall to 6-3.
The Lords leaned on defense and rebounding to pull out the win. They held Waynesburg to 36.1% shooting (22-of-61), a season low for a Kenyon opponent. All of the missed shots led to a 50-32 advantage on the boards for the Lords, who posted a season high in that department.
Waynesburg guard Matt Popeck entered the contest averaging 21.4 points per game, but Kenyon held him to 6-for-16 shooting and 14 points. The only other Yellow Jacket to ring up a double-digit scoring total was Nijon Kirkman, who tallied 10.
When Kenyon had the ball, it wasn’t shy about shooting from long range. The Lords fired 39 three-point attempts and made 10 of them. Both David Mazon and Juan Sergio Matabuena scored a trio of three-balls and tied for the team lead with 11 points each. Nick Lewis sank two from long range and scored 10 points, matching the output of Miles Versa, who sank one from long range.
Those four Kenyon players also did the bulk of the work on the boards. Mazon and Sergio Matabuena each had seven rebounds, while Lewis and Versa each had six.
After a rough opening few minutes for both teams, the Lords got things in gear and jumped out to leads of 10-6 and 18-13. Waynesburg caught Kenyon at 18-18, but back-to-back threes from Lewis and Mazon opened up a six-point Kenyon advantage with a little less than five minutes in the half.
Later, another three-pointer from Alex Boyd moved Kenyon’s lead to nine, and the Lords got to intermission with a 31-22 edge.
In the second half, Waynesburg started to chip away. Using a 14-5 run fueled by Kirkman and Bryson Wilt, the Yellow Jackets tied the game at 36-36 with 14:22 left.
Kenyon then sealed the game by going on a run of its own. Over the next 12 minutes, the Lords pieced together a 29-7 tear that provided all the separation they needed. During that span, Kenyon lulled the Yellow Jackets into five turnovers as well as a 3-of-15 shooting slump. On the other side of the floor, Mazon scored eight points during the game-changing run, while Boyd, Versa and Christian Watanabe all scored five points.
The Lords now have some time away to enjoy the winter break and will return to action on Jan. 5 for a home conference contest against Denison University.
