Box Score

January 11- Omari Hall's defense in the closing seconds forced Pat Sullivan's game-winning attempt off the mark to allow the Oberlin College men's basketball team to escape with a thrilling 64-63 win over Denison on Sunday afternoon.

The Yeomen trailed by two, 63-61, with less than a minute to play, but after misses by both teams a well-designed set play was executed to perfection when Mike Loll found a wide-open Ryan Magiera for what proved to be the game-winning three-pointer with just 29 seconds left.

Oberlin (4-8, 1-3 NCAC) got strong contributions from its starting five as Loll, Magiera and senior Jordan Beard each deposited 14 points in the game. Freshman Josh Merritt also added his second straight double-digit effort with 10 points.

“Our seniors really stepped up and played well today,” head coach Isaiah Cavaco said. “They recognized the importance of this game and were able to inspire us to this victory.”

The game featured 13 lead changes and four ties with eight of those scoreboard switches coming in the second half.

After leading 34-29 at the break, Oberlin fell behind 48-41 with 12:25 left in the second half. However, the Yeomen rallied to reclaim the lead, 56-55, with just over four minutes to play. The two teams then traded buckets nearly the rest of the way. A pair of free throws by Chris Luther, who finished with a game-high 24 points, broke a 61-61 tie to setup Magiera's heroics on the ensuing possession.

Oberlin shot a season-high 51.1-percent (24-of-47) from the floor and continued its stellar free throw shooting with a 9-of-10 effort at the stripe. Denison (3-10, 0-4 NCAC) finished at 39-percent (29-of-53), but did knock down an impressive 9-of-20 (45%) triple-tries that helped keep them in the contest.

The Yeomen look to extend its two-game winning streak when they travel to Allegheny on Wednesday night. Tip-off slated for 8 p.m. and will follow the Gators and Yeowomen match-up that is starting at 6 p.m.