Hamilton men make triumphant return to Scott Field House

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Hamilton College's Kena Gilmour '20 scored a game-high 23 points and the Continentals posted an 86-73 non-conference win against the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Sunday afternoon.

The Continentals (8-1 overall) returned to the win column a little more than 24 hours after a 97-76 loss at Purchase College -- Hamilton's first setback against a non-conference opponent in the regular season since December of 2016. The Continentals had the most points among the teams in the "Others Receiving Votes" category in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.

Hamilton shot 50 percent from the field, including 13 of 30 from 3-point range, and held a 25-10 advantage in points off turnovers. The Continentals enjoyed a 41-33 edge on the glass.

Johnson & Wales (4-4) lost for the third time in its last four games as the Wildcats committed 18 turnovers. Johnson & Wales edged Mitchell College 94-89 at home on Saturday.

Gilmour went 6 of 11 from beyond the arc and handed out four assists. He's second in the NESCAC with 22.8 points per game. Eric Anderson '22 tied a career high with 14 points and scored in double figures for the third game in a row. Nick Osarenren '22 contributed eight points, 10 rebounds and two steals off the bench. Fellow reserve Vince Conn '21 dished out six assists and Elliott Tirbaso '22 and Nkosi Cooper '23 dropped in eight points apiece.

Brian Hogan-Gary paced the Wildcats with 20 points and seven boards. Danny Ampofo added 20 points and Justin Bullock and Chris Lugo had nine apiece.

After Johnson & Wales made the first basket, Hamilton took the lead with a 9-2 run and never gave it back. Gilmour found Anderson for a layup and passed to Mark Lutz '20 for a 3-pointer. Cooper received a pass from Gilmour and went in for a driving layup, and Cooper made it 9-4 with a jumper.

The Continentals took their first double-digit lead at 26-16 as Gilmour found Patrick Mogan '23 for a layup midway through the first half. The cushion grew to 19 points at 44-25 on a layup by Gilmour before the Wildcats scored the last four points of the half, and Hamilton went to the locker room with a 44-29 advantage.

Johnson & Wales pulled within nine at 46-37 early in the second half, but the Continentals went on an 11-2 spurt and effectively put the game away. Gilmour nailed a pair of 3-pointers during the run. A Lutz trifecta midway through the half gave Hamilton its first 20-plus point lead at 66-45. Two Cooper free throws accounted for the Continentals' largest lead of 22 points at 73-51 with 6:12 left.

Hamilton hosts Nichols College -- 6-1 overall and nationally ranked -- for another non-conference game on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m.