The win puts the Gophers (1-0) into the tournament's championship game on Sunday against either Farmingdale St. or Roanoke.
The Gophers led by as many as 11 points in the first half and were up by 10 (42-32) when Jermaine Saunders converted a lay-up with :50 remaining before halftime, but Matt Formato and Chris Willoughby both knocked down three-point field goals for Kenyon, allowing the Lords (0-1) to close to within 42-38 at the break.
Garrett Smith put the finishing touches on a 16-2 run by the Gophers to open the second half when he slammed home two points that made the score 58-40 with 15:10 left to play. Once the lead grew to 62-42 on another basket by Smith with 12:49 showing on the clock, however, Kenyon responded with a run of its own, outscoring Goucher, 16-3, over a span of nearly seven minutes to close to within 65-58.
The Lords eventually pulled to within 69-66 on a pair of free throws by Tyler Rehm with 1:22 remaining, but they missed their final four shots from the field.
Smith was the leading scorer for the Gophers as he went 11-for-15 from the floor to finish with 22 points. Cameron Brown and Saunders chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Goucher out-rebounded Kenyon, 49-30, as Jonathan Garritt collected a career-high 12 boards. Smith pulled down 11 rebounds, giving the senior post player the sixth double-double of his Goucher career.