Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College men's basketball team dropped a midweek matchup to the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan, 86-61, at Philips Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
 
The Yeomen hung tough all game against a high-powered, up-tempo, athletic Bishops squad that ranks 23^rd in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll. However, combine the absence of Oberlin's leading scorer, Jack Poyle, with the Bishops' Nick Felhaber shooting 13-of-15 from the floor and 10-of-12 from  3-point range to finish with a game-high 36 points, it's difficult to pull out a victory.
 
Sophomore Nathan Cohen led the Yeomen in the loss with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting with two rebounds, one assist and three steals. Junior Randy Ollie followed Cohen's double-figure performance with a near double-double, finishing with 12 points and nine boards.
 
The first stanza started off slowly until Ohio Wesleyan gained their first double-digit advantage at 20-8 with 13:57 on the clock. The Yeomen trimmed the lead back to eight on a successful free throw from Jesse Neugarten. Oberlin would keep the Battling Bishops within striking distance in the middle of the first, but the Ohio Wesleyan offense caught fire to close the half.
 
The Yeomen sliced the Bishops lead to eight once more at the 5:01 mark in the first with a pair of free throws from Ian Campbell. Unfortunately, Ohio Wesleyan composed a 13-4 run in the final 5:00 of the half to take a 45-28 lead into the locker room.
 
Felhaber finished with 19 points in the first half to help keep the Yeomen at bay. In the second half, the senior would not miss a shot going 6-of-6 from the floor, which included five 3-pointers.
 
The Yeomen would lag behind by double-digits the entirety of the second half despite a valiant effort offensively. At the 13:47 mark Cohen went hard into the lane, knocked down a layup and drew a foul. He completed the three-point-play to pull the Yeomen within 11, 45-56.
 
After tottering on the verge of a single-digit deficit, the Yeomen pulled within 10 on a pair of Neugarten free throws with 7:00 remaining. After a jumper from OWU's Ben Simpson to move the Bishops ahead, 67-55, Cohen looked to knock down a three-pointer and propel the Yeomen back to a three-possession game. Cohen was fouled on the shot attempt and hit on two of the three free throws to make it 67-57. From there, Ohio Wesleyan took control, finishing the game on a 19-4 run in the final 6:46.
 
The loss drops the Yeomen to 6-10 overall and 2-7 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The road victory improves the No. 23 Battling Bishops to 13-3 and 8-1 in the NCAC.
 
The Oberlin men will stay on campus as they host the Little Giants of Wabash College on Saturday, January 24. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Philips Gymnasium.