Box Score

Meadville, Pa. – The Oberlin men's basketball team played an inspired first half, but the Allegheny College Gators increased the tempo in the second half to get past the Yeomen 85-66 on Wednesday night.

First-year Andrew Fox continued his bid for NCAC Freshman of the Year honors as he recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Fellow rookie Johnathan Nelson added his seventh double-digit scoring performance of the year with 14 points of 4-of-7 shooting. Sophomore Marcus Johnson contributed 13 points, while junior James Tompsett chipped in with 10 of his own.

“I thought we played very well in the first half, but just couldn't adjust to the up-tempo pace they played in the second half,” Head Coach Isaiah Cavaco said. “Give them credit for making the adjustment, but our guys fought hard to the end as well.”

No more than seven points separated the two teams throughout the first 20 minutes of play, but Oberlin's largest lead of the stanza was just two points before Allegheny went into the locker room with a 33-29 advantage.

Allegheny (9-8, 6-3 NCAC) wasted no time in extending its lead in the second half – eventually building a 21-point cushion, 60-39, with 13:49 remaining. Oberlin (4-14, 0-9 NCAC) would try to fight back, but would get no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

Oberlin shot 49-percent (24-of-49) from the floor, but was hindered by a 2-of-11 (18.2%) effort from beyond the arc. The Gators connected on 47.5-percent (28-of-59) of their shots in the win.

After back-to-back sub par efforts at the free throw line, the Yeomen did respond by cashing in 16-of-17 charity tosses on the night for a season-best 94.1-percent success rate.

Oberlin will host Earlham on Saturday as part of a doubleheader with the women's team. The men's tip-off is slated for 3 p.m., while the women will get things going a 1 p.m.