Hamilton College's Kena Gilmour '20 scored 20 points and the nationally ranked No. 18 Continentals remained undefeated with a 76-70 NESCAC win against the No. 14 Wesleyan University Cardinals in men's basketball action at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Friday night.

The Continentals (13-0, 2-0 NESCAC) are one of four Division III men's basketball teams still without a loss this season. Hamilton will go for its 14th straight victory on Saturday, Jan. 13 when they host conference foe Connecticut College at 3 p.m.

Gilmour has scored 20 or more points in five of the last six games and leads the Continentals with 18.6 per contest. He went 9-for-12 at the free-throw line as Hamilton shot 85.7 percent (24-for-28) at the charity stripe.

Peter Hoffmann '19 scored all 12 of his points in the first half and blocked four shots for the Continentals. Tim Doyle '19 chipped in nine points and three assists, Michael Grassey '19 contributed nine points and two steals despite dealing with foul trouble, and Andrew Groll '19 added eight points and five rebounds before he fouled out.

Wesleyan (10-3, 1-2) lost for the third time in its last four games. The Cardinals grabbed 19 offensive rebounds and held a 44-33 advantage on the glass but committed 22 turnovers.

Antone Walker paced Wesleyan with 17 points off the bench. Jordan Bonner narrowly missed a double-double with 16 points and nine boards. Nathan Krill registered nine points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. JR Bascom scored nine points and Jordan Sears was credited with five of the team's 11 steals.

Neither team led by more than six points the opening 15 minutes of the first half. Hamilton jumped out to an 11-5 lead but the Cardinals responded with a 10-0 run and took their largest lead of four points at 15-11. The Continentals countered with six straight points before an old-fashioned three-point play by Austin Hutcherson gave Wesleyan its last lead at 18-17 with 8:01 left.

Hamilton followed with a 17-3 spurt and led the rest of the night. Hoffmann and Groll started it with layups and Joe Pucci '18 hit a jumper. Bonner pulled the Cardinals within three on a basket in the paint but Hoffmann and Vince Conn '20 scored from close range, and Ty Washington '21 made a pair of free throws. Sears made the front end of two free throws for Wesleyan before Gilmour capped the run with five points. His 3-pointer with 2:01 remaining gave the Continentals their biggest lead of 13 points at 34-21.

The Cardinals roared back with 10 straight points and pulled within 34-31 after a Walker layup with 31 seconds to go. On Hamilton's last possession of the half, Hoffmann nearly lost the ball in the lane but recovered and sank a 12-foot jumper just before the buzzer.

The Continentals' lead fluctuated between two and 10 points during the second half as every time Wesleyan got close, Hamilton had an answer. The Continentals opened up a 45-35 cushion but two free throws by Hutcherson cut the Cardinals' deficit to three points at 55-52 with 9:42 left. Pucci answered with a basket from beyond the arc. A layup by Bascom made it 58-56 with 8:14 remaining but Doyle nailed a 3-pointer and Groll knocked in two free throws to push Hamilton's lead back up to seven.

Wesleyan made it a one-possession game three more times -- the last of which at 67-64 on two Bascom free throws with 4:23 to go. Grassey scored on a drive to the basket, was fouled and made the free throw for a 70-64 Hamilton advantage with 3:10 to go. The Cardinals didn't get closer than four points down the stretch. The Continentals went 6-for-8 at the line during the last 93 seconds to clinch the victory.