Lords Basketball Loses in "White Out" Game

Men's basketball hosted a strong Wabash College team on Saturday, Jan. 30, losing 47-52 in a hard-fought game. Wabash's persistent rebounding proved to make the difference, as Wabash corralled 46 rebounds in comparison to Kenyon's 29.

As if the numbers did not tell the whole story, the closing minute of the game highlighted the rebounding discrepancy. Wabash missed their final three shots, but managed to bring down the offensive rebound each time, draining the clock to a few seconds and effectually putting the game away.

Kenyon was at a disadvantage Saturday, as they went into the game with a limited roster, restricting Head Men's Basketball Coach Matt Croci's options off the bench. Kenyon only utilized six players, with Dave Knapke '10, the game's leading scorer, playing the entire 40 minutes. Knapke epitomized consistency again, finishing with 17 points on six of 15 shots, snagging 12 rebounds and blocking two shots. Knapke is now one of 14 players in Kenyon's history to score over 1,000 points and grab 600 rebounds.

The game featured tough defense on both sides of the court. Kenyon held Wabash to their lowest point total thus far this game, but with that came the Lords' lowest scoring output of the season.

Daniel Glaser '13 voiced the team's readiness to put the loss behind them and focus on the upcoming game. "Coming up for [Oberlin] we've been working on getting ready for all their zone defenses and backdoor cutting," he said. "We did a good job preventing their offense from finding a rhythm last game, so we're confident we'll be able to do it again."

Despite the team's loss, the day was won, considering the fans' overwhelming support for the "White Out." Along with the National Basketball Coaches Association vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Weekend, Kenyon hosted the "White Out" as fans donned white shirts in support of the cause. As fans walked in, they were given the option to purchase a white "Kenyon Basketball" T-shirt for $5, the proceeds of which will benefit the American Cancer Society.

The weekend was made possible with the collaboration of the American Cancer Society and the Coaches Association. Participating in the event was Croci, paying tribute by wearing sneakers with his suit during Saturday's game.

The KAC Heads also helped to put on the event, and they manned the T-shirt sales. With each shirt purchase, raffle tickets were issued for a halftime raffle that included a Kenyon sweatshirt, a Kenyon basketball shirt, a gift certificate to MiddleGround and a gift certificate to the Village Inn. Complementing the basketball shirts was the sale of another shirt, the "In Knapke We Trust" T-shirt, a KAC-Head creation.

In all, over $400 was raised for the American Cancer Association. Ben Browning '12, who helped with the T-shirt sales, said: "It was great to be able to do something for a great cause such as cancer research. I was surprised because I didn't think we'd have any chance of selling out the Knapke shirts, not to mention the basketball ones, but every shirt was sold by halftime. The student body's support was great to see."

It was a tough loss for the Lords on a day that was successful in their efforts to raise money. The team played competitively, leading the way during most of the first half. But Wabash came out of the locker room on fire, as the team's point guard nailed two of his five three-pointers in the game to open up the half. Defending the three-pointer spelled trouble for the Lords throughout the game as Wabash connected on eight from three-point range.

The Lords did improve upon last Saturday's game, when they struggled mightily from the free-throw line, shooting a respectable 63 percent, but Wabash's offensive rebounding and impressive three-point shooting proved to be too much.

Anthony Chun '12 and Uros Vasiljevik '11 joined Knapke in playing the entire game. Chun finished with eight points and three steals while Vasiljevik finished with a solid 12 points on six of 11 shots from the field and five rebounds. Marcus Healey '13 earned himself a spot in the starting lineup after becoming a threat from behind the arc thus far this season. On Saturday, he finishing with eight points.

The Lords look to get back on the winning track as they visit Allegheny College on Saturday, Feb. 6. This will prove to be a pivotal match as the Lords continue to fight for positioning heading into the NCAC playoffs in a few weeks. If they can play at their full potential, the Lords should be a threat going into the NCAC tournament.