Springfield, Ohio – A late surge from the Wittenberg University Tigers lifted them over the Oberlin College Yeomen, 71-53, on Saturday afternoon at Pam Evans Smith Arena.
The Yeomen were within striking distance, trailing 58-49 with just under four minutes left to play, but Wittenberg closed the contest on a 13-4 run to put the game away for good.
Junior center Randy Ollie turned in a strong effort for the Yeomen as he was a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor to secure 13 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Sophomore guard Nathan Cohen also reached double figures for the 10th straight game as he posted 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
It was a nip-and-tuck battle throughout the first 20 minutes of action as the opening half featured six lead changes and five ties. The Yeomen were trailing 25-19 with 8:03 remaining in the frame, but used a 10-0 run that featured four points from Zach Meyers to make it a 29-25 Yeomen advantage. The Tigers responded by closing the session on a 7-2 spurt of their own to take a 32-31 lead into the intermission and they would never trail again.
After following behind by nine in the early portion of the second half, the Yeomen fought their way back to within two as Scott Miller's 3-pointer with 11:04 to shrunk the Wittenberg lead to 46-44. Unfortunately for Oberlin, the Tigers were able to regain control as Oberlin never got any closer than eight points in the final 6:13 of the game.
Oberlin shot 43.-percent (21-of-48) from the floor, but was just 3-of-14 (21.4%) from beyond the arc. The Tigers, who had a 35-23 edge in rebounding, shot an impressive 54-percent in the win, cashing in 27-of-50 attempts.
Oberlin dropped to 8-13 overall and 4-10 in the NCAC with the loss. The Tigers, who were led by a game-high 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting from Jaelin Williams, are 8-13 overall and 6-8 in the league.
The Yeomen are back in action on Wednesday night when they host Allegheny College at 8 p.m.
