WILMINGTON, Ohio - Abdul Kanu poured in 25 points and eight rebounds to lift the Wilmington College men's basketball team to an 82-74 victory over Kenyon College in the home-opener for the Quakers at Hermann Court on Saturday afternoon.
"Everyone loves playing at home, but it's winning at home that makes it special," Head Coach Micah Mills said. "It was special seeing our team respond from our game on Thursday. The community support, not only our team, but our food drive as well was awesome."
Neither team broke away in the early going. The hosts, trailing 12-11, put together a quick 9-3 run on a layup from Obed Achirem, two from Abdul Kanu and a three-pointer from Hunter Prince at the 12:40 mark. Wilmington would lead the rest of the half and looked to take a six-point advantage into the break as Domenic Farley connected on a three-pointer with a minute to play. Two Owl free throws, however, made it a four-point (39-35) deficit for Kenyon after 20 minutes.
An old-fashioned, three-point play from Kanu early in the second half capped an 8-2 Quaker run and stretched the host's lead to 47-37 at the 16:51 mark. Kenyon answered, and loudly as the hosts scored 14 of the game's next 18 points and tied it 51-51 on a Sam Walch layup.
Neither side led by more than a possession for several minutes until Archirem found Isiah Taborn for the hoop and the harm at the 8:20 mark to put the Quakers up 63-59. Two possessions later, Farley got an open look from distance. He missed, but Andrew Clark got the offensive rebound, and Achirem found Farley again. This time, the sophomore didn't miss and put Wilmington ahead 68-60.
Kenyon rallied once more to the contest 69-69, but a 7-1 spurt called by a tip-in dunk from Kanu put the Quakers ahead 76-70. Three consecutive Wilmington turnovers including two straight from Bryce Bird get the Owls within striking distance, but Bird rebounded to hit two free throws to seal the game.
Wilmington finished the contest 32-of-59 (54.2 percent) from the field, made 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from three-point range and converted 13-of-24 (54.2 percent) from the free throw line. Kenyon countered with a 24-of-61 (39.3 percent) from the field, 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) from distance and 20-of-32 (62.5 percent) from the charity stripe. Both teams committed 15 turnovers and struggled to find rhythm as 49 combined fouls were called.
Alongside Kanu's 25 points, Achirem and Farley also finished in double figures for the Quakers. Achirem added nine rebounds and four assists while Farley hit three of the team's five triples in the game.
"Abdul's game speaks for itself, but it's his work ethic and mentality of chasing his best that has been awesome to see so far this year," said Mills. "Today's performance speaks to that! His rebounding effort in the second was exactly what we needed and was a big part in us closing out the game."
A trio of Owls – Miles Versa, Gefen Bar-Cohen and Nick Lewis – finished in double figures in defeat. Versa led the way with 17 points and five steals.
Wilmington (3-1) returns to action at home against Wittenberg University on Nov. 30.
