An 18-point effort from senior forward Ahmoni Jones and 14 points from fellow seniors Sam Comer and Avery Beaver sent Wabash into the semifinal round of the 2024 North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament with an 84-65 victory over Kenyon College Tuesday evening at Chadwick Court.
 
Wabash (18-8) faces Denison in Friday's second semifinal game at 7:30 p.m. at Chadwick Court. The Big Red defeated Oberlin 78-62 Tuesday evening.
 
Kenyon (5-21) took a 5-0 lead to open the game before the Little Giants' offense roared to life. Wabash rode a 20-2 run to jump in front by 11 points. The Owls trimmed the lead to single digits twice over the next two minutes, but Wabash outscored Kenyon 21-4 to take a 24-point lead with 4:26 remaining in the first half. Jones provided the final dagger in the opening period by drilling a three-pointer just ahead of the horn to send Wabash to the locker room with a 55-29 halftime advantage.
 
Wabash pushed its lead to as many as 32 points six minutes into the second half before Kenyon mounted a late run, outscoring the Little Giants 36-29 for the final 19-point differential.
 
The Little Giants made 33 of 63 field goal attempts to shoot 52.4 percent for the game. Wabash shot 62.5 percent from the field in the first half. The Little Giants connected on 9 of 19 three-point tries for 47.4 percent and hit 9 of 10 free throws. The Little Giants held Kenyon to 35.6 percent shooting from the field (21 of 59) and 34.4 percent from behind the arc (11 of 32). The Owls made 12 of 20 free throw attempts.
 
Wabash dominated the paint, outscoring Kenyon 46-14 in the lane.
 
Jones shot 6 of 9 from the field for the evening and made 3 of 5 three-pointers. Comer finished a perfect 6-for-6 and made one three-point try. Beaver made 5 of 8 shot attempts and went 2-for-3 from three-point range.
 
Wabash outrebounded Kenyon 37-35. Edreece Redmond led the Little Giants with five boards. Noah Hupmann recorded seven blocked shots to tie for the second-most rejections in a single game by a Little Giant player. Joe DesJean and Daniel Purvlicis both blocked seven shots in a game for Wabash behind the single-game record of 9 blocked shots held by Wabash Athletics Hall of Famer Chris Whitfield.
 
Anthony Testa scored a career-best 25 points to lead Kenyon in scoring in the Owls' final game of the season.
 
Wittenberg and Wooster will meet in the first semifinal game at Chadwick Court on Friday at 5 p.m. Wittenberg advanced with a 71-59 win over Ohio Wesleyan on Tuesday. Wooster needed overtime to get by DePauw 83-80 to earn a spot in Friday's semifinal game.
 
Tickets for each semifinal game are $7 for adults and $5 for students and children 18 years of age or under. Students from NCAC institutions with a valid school ID are admitted free of charge. No tickets will be sold in advance, and only cash will be accepted at the door. Chadwick Court will be cleared between games one and two, and a separate admission will be required between games. Complete ticket information is available at https://northcoast.org/sports/2022/4/20/Championships-ticketinformation.aspx.