Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College men's basketball team returned home after a four-game road swing to defeat the visiting Lords of Kenyon College, 72-64, on Wednesday night at Philips Gym.
The victory moved the Yeomen to 5-2 overall and evened up their North Coast Athletic Conference record at 1-1. The Lords dropped to 2-3 and 0-1 in league play.
Oberlin overcame 24 turnovers as three players scored in double figures to propel them to victory.
Nathan Cohen led the charge with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting and also added six assists and six rebounds.
Junior guard
Jack Poyle finished in double figures for the sixth time in seven games, netting 15 points to accompany his game-high eight rebounds, while senior center
Randy Ollie added 12 points and six boards.
The game was tied at eight seven minutes in as both teams struggled to find their rhythm in the early going. However, the Yeomen would eventually get in a groove, using a 12-3 run that featured 3-pointers from
Matt Walker and
Zach Moo Young to take a 20-11 lead with 5:30 left in the half.
The Lords would answer back, twice shrinking the gap down to four at 22-18 and 24-20, but the half would end on triple-hits from Poyle and Cohen to send the Yeomen into the locker room with a 30-20 advantage.
The back-and-forth play continued in the second session, as Oberlin was never able to pull away to put the game out of reach. A 3-ball from
Eli Silverman-Lloyd put the Yeomen out in front by 13, 45-32, with 11:07 left in the game.
An 11-3 response run from the Lords cut the Yeomen cushion down to five, 48-43, but Oberlin would push the lead back out to 10, 53-43, on a dunk by Ollie at the 6:58 mark.
Kenyon would once again get within in five, but would get no closer the rest of the way. However, they did create some nervousness amongst the home faithful as they started pressing the Yeomen and got the game back within seven, 64-57, with 92 seconds left to play. However, Oberlin settled down, making key free throws while earning some big stops on the defensive end to preserve the win.
The Lords' Tim Connolly led all scorers with 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting. Overall Kenyon shot 34.3-percent (23-of-67) from the field.
Oberlin checked in at 44.2-percent clip, making 23 of the 52 shots it hoisted, which included an 11-of-25 (44%) performance from beyond the arc.
The Yeomen will be back in action on Saturday night when they host Wabash College at 3:00 p.m.
