Box Score Box Score

Cleveland, Ohio – Playing for the first time in eight days, the well rested Oberlin College men's basketball team didn't have enough to overtake the Spartans of Case Western Reserve, falling 81-66 at Horsburgh Gym on Wednesday night.

The Yeomen attack was led by a career-high 16-point effort from sophomore Geoff Simpson. The Simsbury, Connecticut, native finished 6-of-8 from the field and was 3-of-4 at the free throw line. Rookie Jesse Neugarten added 12 points, with most of his damage coming at the stripe where he was a perfect 6-of-6. Senior Josh Merritt chipped in with 10 to complete the trio of double-figure scorers.

It was a game of runs in the first half for both squads as the home Spartans jumped out to a quick 13-3 lead, but Oberlin came roaring back with a vengeance, using a 15-2 run of its own to grab a 18-15 lead with 9:12 left in the stanza. The spurt, which featured five points from Andrew Fox and four from Merritt, was capped off by a Neugarten finer-roll finish at the rim.

Unfortunately the Yeomen lead would not last. Following a Geoff Simpson bucket at the 8:30 mark, Oberlin would be held off the scoreboard for the next six minutes until a Hal Sundt layup temporality halted a 9-0 Case run to make it a 29-22 Case advantage. However, the Spartans continued to close out the period strong, taking a 40-29 lead into the locker room.

A quick jumper by Danny Enright to start the second half got the Yeomen within nine, but the Spartans would take control the rest of the way, building a 20-point lead, 60-40, with 11:18 left to play. Oberlin continued to fight to get the margin down to 13, 66-53, with just over seven minutes remaining, but would get no closer the rest of the way.

The Yeomen struggled from the floor, making just 20-of-58 (34.5%) shot attempts – including a paltry 3-of-20 (15%) performance from downtown. Meanwhile. The Spartans checked in with a 55.6-percent (30-of-54) success rate in the win.

Oberlin also got dominated on the glass by a 45-23 margin. However, OC did cash in 18-of-21 charity tosses (85.7%) in the setback. With the loss Oberlin fell to 2-3 on the year, while Case improved to 3-2.

It won't be any easier for the Yeomen when they return to action on Saturday afternoon when they travel south to take on the 17th-ranked Tigers of Wittenberg in the North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both schools. Tip-time is set for 3 p.m.