The Presidents (0-4) had a chance to win the game with four seconds remaining; however, junior guard Jon Koch’s (New Kensington, Pa./Plum) jumper rimmed out and the Lords (3-2) hung on for the win.
The two schools traded the lead for a majority of the first half until Matt Formato’s three-pointer at the 3:49 mark pushed the KC lead to 30-24. Bryan Yelvington canned a pair of free throws with one second left for a 35-31 Kenyon advantage after 20 minutes of play.
The Lords stretched the lead to 43-34 in the first three minutes of the second half, but the Presidents rallied with 10 straight points to claim a one-point lead with 14:06 left to play. Junior guard Brandon Studer (Johnstown, Pa./Conemaugh Valley) scored five points during the run, while freshman guard Nate Burton (Charleston, W.Va./Charleston C.C.) drilled a triple.
Freshman center Josip Lucic-Jozak’s (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) basket with 7:09 remaining gave W&J a 57-54 lead, but the Lords responded with six unanswered points over the next four minutes to assume a 61-57 edge.
Lucic-Jozak made it a one-point deficit (67-66) with 43 seconds left to play and Koch was fouled with 11 seconds remaining. He missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but junior forward Matt Vorndran (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) picked up the offensive rebound. Koch’s jumper then missed and Kenyon escaped with the victory.
Tyler Rehm led three Lords in double figures with 16 points, while Formato and Yelvington added 15 and 10, respectively. Yelvington also pulled down eight rebounds. KC shot only 41 percent (21-of-51), but connected on 11-of-25 shots from three-point range.
Koch totaled 18 points and five rebounds to pace the Presidents, while Lucic-Jozak notched his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. Studer chipped in with 16 points after drilling 4-of-8 three-point attempts. Burton also recorded five points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 22 minutes, while Vorndran grabbed nine rebounds.
Washington & Jefferson held a 37-35 edge on the glass and shot 43 percent (26-of-61) overall.
The Presidents will move up to the Division I level on Saturday as they travel to Morgantown, W.Va., to take on West Virginia at 4:00 pm at the WVU Coliseum.